


When The Morning Comes

by autumn_daisies, okay안녕 (autumn_daisies)



Series: Happier [1]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Han Jisung | Han-centric, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, It's gonna hurt, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, and everyone is in way too cute of a relationship, and so is minho, but it's gonna be okay, jisung is just an idiot, what are tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-20
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2020-01-16 18:11:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 24,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18526894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/autumn_daisies/pseuds/autumn_daisies, https://archiveofourown.org/users/autumn_daisies/pseuds/okay%EC%95%88%EB%85%95
Summary: The most important thing to Jisung is soulmates.Minho is not Jisung's soulmate.





	1. A Barista? How original.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! Welcome to a new fic. My first true chaptered fic. I have everything planned, so it should go pretty smoothly! I like the story and I hope all of you will, too.
> 
> Please enjoy!

   _You're cute._

_-LMH_

 

  Jisung scoffed at the pink sticky note and shook his head. Hyunjin was never annoyed by the constant barrage of affection he received, but it always rubbed Jisung the wrong way. He figured it was fine and even natural to date outside the soulmate you've been assigned, but Hyunjin had a first words tattoo. Hyunjin would _know_ who his soulmate was. He didn't have to wonder if he'd already met them, if he ever would, or if he had one at all. Maybe Jisung was jealous. He just wished people would stop hitting on his roommate. It was really annoying. Whoever this 'LMH’ was needed to swerve back into his own lane.

  Jisung shoved the note into his back pocket and opened the door to his room. Hyunjin wasn't in - he took most of his classes at weird hours - so Jisung felt free to collapse onto his bed and scream into the pillow for as long as he felt he needed to before he sat up. He had work to do.

  Jisung was a second year music production major, hardly two weeks into his stressful first semester. He honestly thought it was amazing that he made it so far, especially given that everything he had ever turned in had been last-minute. Despite Chris's endless chants to stop procrastinating, Jisung thought it was more important to go for more spontaneity. Plus, this way, he got to sleep, and had plenty of time to hang out with his friends. Of course, it was getting more stressful by the minute.

  Chris had always had Woojin. Jisung was never bothered by their soulmate bond, because it felt so natural, and they had known each other for longer than Jisung knew them. Their soulmate bond was seeing each other in their dreams, and only being able to sleep at the same time. Given Chris's sleeping schedule, this presented a rather massive problem for them, which only worsened when he got to his first year of university. Jisung remembered when Chris lovingly recounted the story of how Woojin yelled at him in his dreams to just _go to bed_ , and Chris recognized him rubbing sleep from his eyes on his way to class the next day.

  The problem was that Changbin had found his soulmate the first day of the semester. He had touched some cute, freckle-faced, Australian freshman, and saw color for the first time in his entire life. Jisung knew it was adorable, and he loved having Felix around. Still, he felt alone. Sometimes he joked that anything was better than the text plastered on Hyunjin's bicep that just read “You're an idiot”, but he didn't mean it. He rather have a mean soulmate than none at all.

  Jisung tried not to think about not having a soulmate. For one thing, he didn't even know if it was true. He could just have a strange soulmate bond. Maybe his soulmate was dead. That would be worse than not having one, though. Jisung just didn't want to be alone for the rest of his life, and soulmates were undoubtedly important to him. His soulmate was important to him. Not like he knew who it was, but still.

  Jisung didn't bother to tell Hyunjin about the note. Partially, it was because he thought Hyunjin wouldn't care, but also, Jisung forgot. In fact he forgot completely about the note until he got to his music history class the next morning.

  Jisung finished off the coffee in his cup with a wince. He had burnt his tongue when the cute barista had winked at him before he darted out of the cafe. He cursed his own jumpy nature. He sat down at his desk - in the second row from the back, next to the wall - and noticed a pink sticky note on the surface.

 

   _Are you a squirrel? Because you've climbed your way into my heart~_

_-LMH_

 

  Jisung was dense - almost incredibly so, to the point that he wouldn't notice things spelled right in front of his nose. However, he pieced together that this LMH was into him, not his beautiful roommate, and Jisung had no clue who he was. It was going to drive him insane. It proceeded to do just that for the rest of the class, which he spent staring at the back of people's heads and _knowing_ it was someone in that class. It bothered him. He was glad that music history was boring enough he never paid attention anyway. Beethoven didn't really describe Jisung's musical aspirations.

  “So, you're telling me this dude is leaving you _notes?”_ Hyunjin asked, sprawled out on his mattress with his head dangling upside down off of it.

  “Yes!”

  “When was he born, the sixteenth century?”

  “Yah!” Jisung exclaimed, throwing a pillow at Hyunjin and missing terribly. “I don't know! I've never seen him before,” he pouted.

  “I guess it's sweet,” Hyunjin said, doing some kind of weird forward roll that caused him to land on the floor. Jisung laughed as their downstairs neighbor banged on their ceiling of the floor below in annoyance. “But,” Hyunjin continued. “What if he's not your soulmate?”

  “Maybe our bond is that he's invisible to only me,” Jisung countered.

  “Unfortunate,” Hyunjin said sarcastically. Jisung had no more pillows to throw at him, so he settled for sticking his tongue out at him. “Hey, if you wanted valuable advice, you should have asked Chan.”

  “Maybe I will,” Jisung said, standing up and throwing his pillow back onto his bed. He tugged his shoes on and Hyunjin yelled out a “good luck!” as he closed the door.

  Jisung marched the whole extremely small distance - only a few doors - to Chan and Changbin's shared dorm room. He knocked out of courtesy for the fact that both occupants had found their soulmates, and possibly got up to things Jisung didn't really want to think about. “Come in!”

  Jisung opened the door to find Chan hunched over his laptop. “Yo,” he greeted as Jisung walked in.

  “Yo.”

  “What's up?” Chan asked, still not looking away from his screen.

  “Hyunjin was being annoying.”

  “Hyunjin’s never annoying for no reason,” Chan said, spinning around in his office chair. “So what's up?”

  Jisung procures the two notes from his pockets.

  Chan clicked his tongue thoughtfully. “So, your dilemma is that you don't know who this is?”

  Jisung nodded enthusiastically. “What if he's really creepy! Or worse, he's actually pretty.”

  “How do you know it's a he?” Chan asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “Wishful thinking?”

  He laughed. “Well, I think this mystery admirer will reveal himself in due time, yeah?”

  “I can't wait that long,” Jisung complained.

  “Patience, young squirrel.”

  Jisung puffed his cheeks up, making Chan laugh, and sprawled himself dramatically across the floor. He didn't move until Changbin came back and kicked him on his way to his bed, causing Jisung to pout as he returned to his room. Hyunjin wasn't home. Jisung took the opportunity to go to sleep.

  Jisung got up the next morning when his alarm went off, mostly because Hyunjin was complaining about it. He shut it off and dragged himself out of bed to go meet Felix. Felix's first class was in the same building as Jisung's every other day, so they often walked together to get coffee and then go to class. Jisung hardly paid attention to what he was wearing. He didn't even notice whether or not he changed. He just grabbed his bag and left the dorm, finding Felix outside.

  Felix had a lot of freshman enthusiasm. Jisung could tell by the fact that he still wore jeans to class and made an effort to look okay, but Felix was too pretty to ever look bad, anyway. “Sleep well?” Felix teased.

  Jisung ran a hand through his inevitably messy hair and laughed. “Not really.”

  “Same,” Felix answered. “So, any plans about what to do about 'LMH’?”

  “Who told you?”

  “Hyunjin,” he said cheerily.

  Jisung shook his head in disappointment. “Remind me never to tell Hyunjin anything.”

  Felix shrugged. “You didn't answer my question, though.”

  “No, there are no plans,” Jisung huffed. “Chan said to just wait. So I guess I'm going to wait.”

  “But you're terrible at waiting.”

  “I _know_ . Which is the main problem. And what if this LMH person doesn't _want_ to tell me who they are? What if it's a prank or something?”

  “That'd be mean,” Felix said. “I'm sure they will, Sungie.”

   “Let's hope,” Jisung grumbled. “Or I'm going to tear my hair out in frustration or something.”

  They quickly arrived at the campus coffee shop, and Jisung groaned when he saw a certain beautiful barista behind the counter. “Hmm? What's up?” Felix asked.

  “That guy. He winked at me yesterday. And it made me flinch and I burnt my tongue on my coffee.”

  “Oh, that's Minho,” Felix said. “He's a TA for my dance class.”

  “Woah,” Jisung mused. “Of _course_ he dances.”

  “He's amazing,” Felix said, not acknowledging any of Jisung's very apparent gay panic.

  “Hello, what can I get you today?” the hot barista - Minho - asked them, eyes darting between Felix and Jisung. Jisung waved for Felix to go first. Jisung noticed how Minho winked at him. _What a weird guy._

  “And what can I get you today?” Minho repeated, his script evidently wearing him down.

  Jisung ordered his overly sugary coffee concoction and handed Minho his card.

  “And the name for that is… Jisung?”

  Jisung was taken aback by his memory, but nodded. He waited for Minho to wink, so he was prepared when it came, but it still made his heart buzz.

  Felix smiled at him widely, knowingly, when he walked to wait with him for his coffee. “So?”

  “Don't look at me like that,” Jisung said, crossing his arms.

  Felix laughed.

  “Yongbok?”

  Felix grabbed his drink and Jisung snickered. “It's easier for them to say!” Felix pointed out.

  “Jisung?”

  The mysterious second barista had disappeared, and Minho was back, drink in hand and small smile on his face. Jisung approached to take it from him.

  “Have a nice day!” Minho said, customer service smile widening.

  “You too!”

  Jisung took his drink and noticed only when he returned to Felix that, attached to the cup, was a pink sticky note.

 

   _You must be exhausted from running through my mind all day! Get some rest~_

_-LMH_

 

  “Oh… my… God,” Felix said as they hurriedly exited the cafe. “LMH! Lee Minho! It's _him.”_

  Jisung's face was warm. “Does he do that with everyone?”

  “Put notes on their desk? And the door to their dorm room? That would be creepy.”

  “Fair point. But there's just no way…”

  “You have to write him a note back!” Felix enthused. “This is so cute. Maybe you're soulmates!”

  Immediately, Jisung felt his face fall. Soulmate talk wasn't easy for him. But maybe Felix was right. Maybe Minho could be his soulmate, his real soulmate, his wholehearted, destined-by-the-universe, singular soulmate. Jisung didn't know how it was possible, but he wanted so badly for it to be true. Maybe just wanting it would make it true, but probably not.

 

  Probably not.

 

  Still, Jisung wrote a note on a bright green sticky note (he didn't have any pink ones) and felt it weighing down his whole body as he stood alone in line at the cafe the next day. All it had on it was a small heart and his phone number. He had been too nervous to try to write something else on it, because maybe he had misinterpreted everything. “Hello, what can I get for you today?”

  Jisung swallowed hard and gave his order. He tried not to look at Minho's adorable smile as he spoke, and just paid and moved to wait for his drink as quickly as possible. He took the note from his pocket. He sighed. He figured if this didn't work, he always had the option of hiding in his dorm room and never seeing the light of day again, so how bad could it be?

  “Jisungie?”

  Minho's smile grew as Jisung approached and smiled back. Minho had been holding the cup in both hands, so Jisung took it with one, pressing the folded note into Minho's hand with the other.

   He had never ran so fast out of a building in his life. He did, however, watch through the windows to see Minho open the note, laugh lightly, and put it in his pocket with a wide smile. Jisung smiled, too.

   _Two can play at that game, ‘LMH’._

 

~~~

 

[???:

  Hey there, Sungie!

 

Me:

  Minho?

 

???:

   The one and only ;)

 

Me:

  Technically speaking, there's a whole bunch of Minhos.

 

LMH♥️:

  I'm the only one that matters

 

Me:

  I'll keep that in mind hahaha :)

 

LMH♥️:

   Just like you'll think about me?]

 

  Jisung didn't know whether to swoon because Minho was pretty _and_ into him or groan because he was so cheesy. He settled for a strange mix of the two, causing Hyunjin to turn to look at him.

  “What's up with you?” Hyunjin asked.

  “I'm texting someone.”

  “Who?”

  “You wouldn't know him…”

  “Bet. Tell me,” Hyunjin drawled.

  Jisung sighed. “His name is Minho.”

  “Surname?”

  “Lee.”

  “That isn't very specific,” Hyunjin complained.

  “He's absolutely gorgeous? A dance TA?”

  Hyunjin's face lit up. “Really? Why are you texting _Lee Minho_?”

  “Why should I tell you?” Jisung said suspiciously, pulling his phone closer to his chest.

  “I'll just ask Felix if you don't,” he replied plainly.

  “He was the one leaving me notes.”

  Hyunjin's eyes widened in amusement. “Seriously?”

  “Is it that hard to believe that he likes me?” Jisung pouted.

  Hyunjin shook his head with a laugh. “I'm just surprised, but also not at all. Is he, like, your soulmate, though?”

  Jisung was silent for a little bit. “I don't know, Hyunjin.”

  Hyunjin cleared his throat. “Either way, I'm happy for you!”

  The rest of Jisung's friends had heard about Minho in the next half an hour, and some of Hyunjin's that Jisung hardly knew. It was the nature of all things in his life.

 

[LMH♥️:

  Can't believe you didn't reply, Sungie. And I thought you liked me :(

 

Me:

  No! I do

 

Me:

  Wait

 

LMH♥️:

  Heheheh

 

Me:

  BRB regretting all my life decisions

 

LMH♥️:

  I'm honored to be one of them

 

Me:

  Not what I meant

 

LMH♥️:

  ;)

 

Me:

  You're so confusing

 

Me:

  I'm going to bed

 

LMH♥️:

  Sleep well~ though I'm sure you'd sleep better if I were there heh]

 

  Jisung turned his phone off hastily and buried himself under his comforter. He felt good about this. About Minho. His heart was warm and nervous but he knew something was happening, deep in his bones, and he wanted to know what it was.

 

~~~

 

  Minho wasn't behind the counter when Jisung walked in the cafe with Felix. Jisung's face fell immediately.

  “Boo!”

  Jisung jumped, turning to see a laughing Minho with a tray of drinks in hand.

  “I hate you,” Jisung muttered, regaining his bearings. Minho shrugged and handed him a coffee cup. Jisung drank it slowly - his usual order.

  Felix greeted Minho and took his drink gratefully. They started towards the music building.

  “Oh, look, it's… Woojin!” Felix said, pointing off in the distance. “I'm gonna go walk with him!”

  “Where?” Jisung asked, looking where he had pointed. There was no one. Felix left.

  Minho giggled. “You and Felix are… close?”

  “He's my friend's soulmate. We just clicked and now we're best friends. But he's still a traitor.”

  Minho didn't say anything.

  “Anyway. I heard you're a dance major?”

  Minho nodded. “I am. And you?”

  “Music production,” Jisung answered. “How do you not know this already?”

  “I didn't really ask around about you,” Minho admitted. “I don't know much.”

  “Well. My name's Han Jisung-”

  “Got that.”

  “My friends call me Squirrel, or Sungie if they're annoying like Hyunjin.”

  “You're friends with Hyunjin?” Minho asked, amused.

  “That's a stretch,” Jisung said. “He's my roommate.”

  Minho nodded thoughtfully.

  “Actually,” Jisung continued, “when you left that first note on the door to my dorm, I thought it was for Hyunjin. Because Hyunjin gets a lot of attention like that.”

  Minho shook his head with a laugh. “Hyunjin's not my type. And doesn't he already have a soulmate?”

  “He's got a first words tattoo,” Jisung said. “I'm kind of jealous.”

  “Why would you be?” Minho asked softly. Jisung noticed how soulmates affected him. Jisung loved to talk about soulmates, even though he knew he might not have one or ever find his. Minho didn't seem to want to talk about it.

  “I don't know what my bond is,” he said simply.

  “Oh,” Minho replied lightly. “I don't know mine, either.”

  “Really?”

  “Really.”

  Jisung grinned. There was a chance that Minho was his soulmate. It could be true. And even if it wasn't, Jisung had found another person like him. If fate thought they shouldn't be together, it could tell him, and it hadn't told him anything thus far.

  They stayed in comfortable silence until they got to class. Minho moved to sit next to him by the wall, which Jisung found more distracting than the notes. It was so much nicer to look at the sharp slope of Minho's nose, his long eyelashes, and his sharp cheekbones than it was to take notes. Jisung did his best not to let Minho catch him staring.

 

~~~

 

  “You stare a lot,” Minho observed.

  It was the second time Minho had said that to him. The first time had been after music history that day those couple of weeks before. And, now, Jisung was sitting next to Minho on a bench outside a small bakery hardly outside campus. He couldn't blame himself for staring. It's the first time he'd been out with Minho in the evening, and the setting sun was lighting his face delicately in a way Jisung was having a hard time ignoring. He took another bite of his cupcake, wiping frosting off his nose and turning away defensively. Jisung knew better to inflate Minho's ego, so he just mumbled something vague.

  “You're really pretty, Jisung,” Minho said.

  His voice had a bit of softness Jisung wasn't used to. Minho was snarky, sassy, and confident. Every time he said things with that air of honesty and gentleness, Jisung felt himself melt. He smiled. “You’re prettier,” he said quietly.

  “Agree to disagree?” Minho said, carefully pulling off a piece of his cupcake before placing it in his mouth.

  “You really mean that?” Jisung asked, looking down at his combat boot clad feet.

  “Mean what? That you’re pretty?”

  “Yeah.”

  Jisung looked up to see Minho smiling, leaning his head back, and the sun caught his hair just right. Jisung felt breathless.

  “Of course I mean it,” Minho said. “Why wouldn't I?”

  “You've just never said it before,” Jisung struggled out through his heart palpitations. He took another stressed bite of his cupcake.

  “I haven't?”

  “No,” Jisung responded. “You always say I'm cute. A lot of people say that, so I guess it makes sense, but I just-”

  “Jisung.”

  No _Sungie_. Jisung was surprised. He looked up to see Minho with a slight smile on his face. “You're adorable,” he started, touching his finger to Jisung's frosting dotted nose. “But more than that, you're absolutely beautiful. You're possibly the prettiest person I've ever seen.”

  Jisung could see the sun behind Minho, his face close to Jisung's, his whole being glowing. Jisung wondered if he'd ever seen a mirror. He just stared into Minho's large eyes, a look of surprise inevitably on his face.

  Jisung didn't know what came over him, but he leaned forward, closing the distance between them and pressing his lips against Minho's softly. He had to separate to breathe before long, and was met with a wide, gummy smile.

  Minho laughed breathily, and Jisung joined him. Minho kissed Jisung's nose softly and backed away. Jisung covered his warm face with his hands quickly, much to Minho's amusement.

  “I really like you, Sungie,” Minho said.

  “I… really like you, too,” Jisung admitted, shoving the rest of his cupcake in his cheeks.

  Minho held his hand as they walked back to the dorms. They didn't talk as much, but it was comfortable. Minho glowed under the monotone streetlights enough to make it seem like they were spotlights, focused on him with glowing intensity. But he smiled and the lights fell on Jisung, too, warming him to the very core. Even if Jisung forgot his lines, got stage fright, or tripped and landed on his face, he would laugh it off just to feel Minho's presence again. Even if Minho did the same, Jisung would give him a standing ovation every time.

 

~~~

 

  “You look amazing,” Minho said, mouth open as he looked him up and down.

  Hyunjin pouted as he crossed his arms over his red, horrendously patterned, sequined Christmas sweater, and ripped off his antler headband. “No need to mock me, Minho. He's in there,” Hyunjin said, stepping out of the doorway.

  Jisung adjusted his green elf hat and the white puffballs hanging from his ears. He was wearing a green turtleneck and loose white jeans, cuffed to show off his tree-patterned socks. He smiled widely when Minho entered the room. Minho had a Santa had loosely placed on his head, white sweater and red jeans making him look like a much hotter Old Saint Nick. Young Not-So-Holy Minho. It didn't really roll off the tongue.

  “Hey, Sungie,” Minho said, kissing his forehead gently. “You look so cute!”

  “Not as cute as you,” he replied with a subtle wink. The more time Jisung spent around Minho, the more he became like him. And now that it was nearing three months of them… hanging out, Jisung had picked up his flirty confidence in a way. Minho found it very entertaining.

  “You're all gross,” Hyunjin whined. “Let's go.”

  Jisung grabbed Minho's hand before walking out of the dorm.

  The hallway was decorated with lights and ornaments, and many people were out of their rooms. It was Christmas Eve, but going home for Christmas proved much too difficult for many students, despite most of them being from Seoul. In a way, Jisung was going home. To Felix's home. His parents were on a trip to Australia, leaving him with an empty house, which meant that they were going to have a Christmas party with more festive spirit and alcohol than necessary.

  Hyunjin's antlers fell off his head as they got to the stairs, causing them to bounce down nearly a whole flight. An unfamiliar boy with red dyed hair and an admittedly adorable appearance scoffed, watching Hyunjin struggle from by what Jisung presumed to be his own dorm room. He was someone Jisung vaguely recognized as a freshman. “Hey, what's so funny?” Hyunjin asked, half-joking, but a pout definitely on his face.

  Something shifted dramatically in the red haired boy's face, and in the face of his friend. “You're an idiot,” he said, quietly, almost dreamily.

  Hyunjin's face was slack, and tears began to gather in his eyes. The redhead laughed wetly and held out his hand for a handshake, which Hyunjin accepted. “Kim Seungmin,” he said.

  “Hwang Hyunjin. I've been waiting for you,” he said, rolling up his sweater awkwardly to show his tattoo. Seungmin displayed a space near his collarbone.

  “Wait, are you seriously…?” Jisung wondered aloud.

  “Soulmates,” Seungmin finished.

  The friend who had been with Seungmin groaned loudly. “God! Now you're _never_ going to hang out with me.”

  “Innie, it's not going to be like that,” Seungmin said.

  The boy still looked unsatisfied. He was cute, Jisung decided. In order to prevent whatever growing jealousy he had for Hyunjin and his soulmate, he dragged Minho over to him. “It's okay, kid. I've adopted you,” he said confidently.

  “Who even are you?” the kid asked.

  “I'm Jisung, and this is Minho.”

  “You're friends with Woojin!” the kid said, eyes going wide. “I'm Yang Jeongin.”

  Jisung remembered Woojin mentioning a freshman with that name, and something about how everyone thought he was adorable. Jisung was no exception.

  Seungmin and Hyunjin had disappeared down the stairs when Jisung turned to look. Minho sighed. “He does know I'm his ride, right?”

  Jeongin tagged along when they got in Minho's car and started towards Felix's house. Jisung sat in the front, with the other three in the back. He messed with Minho's hand as it sat on his knee. “You okay?” Minho whispered over the din of the other three's arguing.

  “Yeah,” Jisung answered, shooting him a small smile.

  But Jisung was jealous of Hyunjin. He always had been because of the words scrawled on his arm, but now it was real. Seungmin was Hyunjin's soulmate. Jisung had Minho, so he didn't really want to complain that he probably hadn't found his soulmate if he even had one, but he still felt jealous of his destiny.

  “It's gonna be okay, Sungie,” Minho said, looking over at him briefly. “It's gonna be a fun party, right? It's Christmas.”

  Jisung did love Christmas. He grinned. “For sure. Even though I have to hang out with you.”

  Minho laughed.

  Felix's house was large. It seemed to be glowing, decorations wrapped around it and white exterior reflecting the lights. Jisung sometimes forgot that Felix was _rich._ Jisung didn't knock before throwing open the door to the massive entrance hall. “Felix!”

  Felix emerged from the kitchen, red and white striped apron on and flour all over his face. “I'm making cookies!” he announced.

  Jisung entered the kitchen as the others settled themselves in the living room. The living room was cavernous, showing the second floor, a giant Christmas tree decorated with an abundance of colorful ornaments at the far wall. “Who's the redhead?” Changbin asked, appearing from behind Felix.

  “Kim Seungmin, if I remember correctly,” Felix said.

  “But why is he here?” Changbin asked quietly.

  Jisung sighed. “He's kind of Hyunjin's soulmate-”

  “Hyunjin! You found your soulmate?” Felix yelled, hopping over the marble counter dramatically to hug Hyunjin.

  “Yeah, Felix, this is-”

  “Seungmin! You live in the room next door!”

  Seungmin raised an eyebrow. “And you are…?”

  “Felix. This is my house.”

  Seungmin smiled. “Oh! Well, sorry for intruding.”

  Jisung thought his extremely polarizing personality was a little bit strange, but it matched Hyunjin well. They really did seem like soulmates.

  Felix put his cookies in the oven and Jisung returned to Minho. There was room on the couch - especially given Jisung's size - but Minho insisted there wasn't a pulled him into his lap. Minho and Jisung were between Chris, who had Woojin sitting in front of him on the floor, and Seungmin, who was talking to Hyunjin on his other side.

  “So,” Seungmin said, turning towards Jisung. “Are you two…?”

  “Together,” Minho finished. “Mhm.”

  “Really? What's your bond? You two seem very close,” Seungmin said.

  Jisung stirred uncomfortably. “We're, uh. Kind of not soulmates but I really like him so we're pretending,” he said quickly.

  Seungmin laughed. “Well, good for you two!”

  Jisung was glad Seungmin didn't freak out about it. He was always worried people would. Felix re entered the room - he kept running around everywhere - with a plateful of cookies in one hand and a bottle of rum and eggnog in the other. Changbin quickly helped him place them down on the coffee table so he wouldn't drop them.

  Felix ran back to grab glasses and poured himself a drink. He downed it much too quickly, causing Changbin and Chris to both hold their heads in their hands. “Felix, you are going to be way too drunk-” Chris said.

  “Says you,” Felix said. “It's a party, yeah?”

  Jisung laughed, making grabby hands for the coffee table since he didn't want to get up. Felix poured him a drink and handed it to him.

  Jisung had hardly taken a sip with Minho stole it and drank the rest.

  “This is thievery,” he pouted.

  Minho shrugged. “What are you gonna do, arrest me?”

  “I'll leave,” Jisung threatened.

  “Nope,” Minho argued, rapping his arms around Jisung's torso. Jisung struggled, but Minho was strong, and he was small. Eventually, he gave up and rested the back of his head on Minho's shoulder softly.

  Minho had a lot more eggnog. Jisung had cookies. Felix was crying about how it was his first Christmas where he could see the colors, and Changbin was fruitlessly attempting to calm him down. Hyunjin and Seungmin kept “accidentally” crossing under the mistletoe and making out. Chris and Woojin seemed too tired to parent anymore and just retrieved more snacks from the kitchen.

  “Hey, Sungie,” Minho said. They had since separated and now Minho was lying on the floor in front of the couch, and Jisung was sat cross-legged at his feet.

  “What is it?” Jisung answered.

  “Sungie, Sungie, Sungie,” Minho continued softly. “I love you.”

  Jisung spluttered and coughed. “Sorry, you've just… never said that before.”

  Minho sat up and frowned. “No, do you remember when you fell asleep at my apartment on Halloween?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I took off your squirrel makeup and then you fell asleep and then I told you I loved you.”

  “...you did?”

  “And then again the next week. I don't think you heard me, though.”

  Jisung could remember those events, vaguely, and the idea that Minho had said he loves him before… it was weird. It felt nice.

  “I love you too, Minho,” Jisung said, watching as Minho's drunken expression lit up. He was illuminated by the fairy lights and Jisung thought he was beautiful.

  “Will you be my boyfriend?”

  “Your what?”

  “My boyfriend,” Minho repeated.

  Jisung's brain struggled with the phrase. “Like… a friend? Minho, I'm confused, I thought-”

  “Have you… do you not know what a boyfriend is? A girlfriend?” Minho asked, eyebrows furrowing up in confusion.

  Jisung shook his head slowly.

  “What do you call two people who're in an exclusive relationship but aren't married?” Minho asked.

  “Soulmates,” Jisung said quickly.

  Minho sighed and faced away from him. “Sungie, I… are soulmates important to you?”

  “Yeah,” Jisung admitted. “But I really meant what I said to Seungmin earlier.”

  “What did you say?” Minho asked.

  “I said that… I really like you. Even though we kind of aren't soulmates. You can be my soulmate if you like,” Jisung said.

  Minho smiled. “We don't have to do that, Sungie. You can be my boyfriend. And I'll be yours. Okay?”

  Jisung sighed. “I still don't know what it _means_.”

  Minho looked around the room. “Woojin!” he called.

  “What is it?” Woojin asked, approaching the two of them.

  “How would you describe a boyfriend to someone who doesn't know what it is?”

  “Is it Jisung?”

  “Hey!” Jisung interjected. “It doesn't matter who doesn't know.”

  Well,” Woojin started. “A boyfriend is someone you're romantically involved with, and you're in an exclusive relationship usually. It's a commitment. A title.”

  “Thank you,” Minho drawled, turning back to Jisung. “So?”

  “Boy...friend.”

  “Yes,” Minho affirmed. “Will you be my boyfriend? And can I be yours?”

  “Yes,” Jisung decided. “That makes this a lot less confusing.”

  Drunk Minho didn't question the sentiment. He cheered quietly and wrapped his arms around Jisung's shoulders, pressing a messy kiss on his lips. He mostly missed, but Jisung appreciated the sentiment. “Are you going to remember this tomorrow?” Jisung asked with a laugh.

  “I could never forget anything about you, Sungie.”

  Drunk Minho was very cute. Jisung kind of missed the sober one. Minho poked his puffball earring and laughed. “I got the best Christmas present ever,” he giggled.

  “Hmm?” Jisung asked, watching Minho's lidded eyes as his gaze darted around Jisung's face.

  “You, duh,” Minho said, leaning forward even farther until Jisung had no option to fall over on his back. Minho kissed him lazily and then cuddled into his chest. Minho was too heavy for it to be comfortable, but Jisung just carded a hand through Minho's hair.

  “Merry Christmas,” Jisung said quietly.

  Minho had a terrible hangover the next morning, and Jisung had aches from sleeping on the floor. The other seven of them weren't much better. But in that moment, Jisung was confused and fuzzy on the inside, and he loved Minho _so_ much. It was the best Christmas Eve ever.

 

~~~

 

  Jisung excelled at his exams at the end of the first semester. He blamed his heightened motivation on being around Minho so much.

  Minho kissed Jisung on New Year's Day.

  They bought each other stuffed animals, flowers, and candy on Valentine's Day.

  Hyunjin spent a lot of time at Seungmin's dorm, effectively kicking Jeongin out to live with Felix since Changbin was always busy. That left Jisung's dorm empty to be able to accommodate Minho's constant presence there. Most times Minho slept there, Jisung in his arms, and Jisung slept better - that is, when he could stop staring at Minho's features as they shone in the light filtering in from the street. Minho was beautiful.

  Minho did things Jisung never expected.

  The notes with the cheesy pick-up lines didn't stop just because they were together. “Boyfriends”, as Minho had taught Jisung to call it. Minho baked him cookies, though Jisung wasn't sure with what kitchen, since Minho lived in the dorms too.

  Jisung also learned that Minho worked harder than he thought. Jisung never thought he was lazy, but the amount of vigor he put into dance was enviable. He stayed out late and returned covered in sweat, and then got up before Jisung did to get to work at the cafe or practice more. Jisung worried about him, so he did his best to make sure Minho took care of himself. To be honest, Jisung wasn't really the poster child of self-care, either, so they both got help from Woojin. Woojin had practically graduated already, so he was usually free, leaving him able to pester the others about getting enough sleep.

  In short, Jisung was happy. He had few worries and few problems, and the most beautiful person he had ever seen to come to at the end of all of his classes. Minho smelled like coffee and hope. Jisung figured that this is what it was like to have a soulmate.

  “Jisung,” Minho whispered into the darkness of the room.

  “Yeah?” Jisung answered, turning to face him. Minho was staring at the ceiling, expression unreadable. He breathed in deeply before he spoke again.

  “Are soulmates important to you?”

  Jisung couldn't find it in him to be anything but honest with Minho. He never could. “Yes. Growing up, I always wanted to know who my soulmate was. I wanted so badly to find them. And I've always been so jealous of people who had theirs.”

  Minho sighed.

  Jisung just continued. “Even now, I still think about it, obviously. About my soulmate.”

  “Do you think they're out there?”

  “I think… I think they exist.”

  Jisung knew in his heart Minho was his soulmate. In the past several months, he had become so sure that fate had meant for them to be together. However, there was no definite sign. Jisung was never sure of anything.

  “I always assumed no one would ever love me,” Minho said quietly.

  “Why?” Jisung asked, putting an arm over Minho's chest and hugging him.

  “I figured I didn't have a soulmate. And that no one would ever think I was worth it.”

  “I love you, Minho.”

  “I know you do, Sungie. Thank you so much for that.”

  “I couldn't stop loving you if I wanted to.”

  Minho was silent for a little before speaking again, breaking the heavy silence. “Do you want to be with your soulmate someday?”

  “Of course,” Jisung answered, burrowing himself farther into Minho's chest.

  They fell asleep like that, Minho holding Jisung tighter than he could ever remember. Jisung felt secure. He knew he loved Minho more than anything, maybe even more than whoever his soulmate is. As Jisung nodded off, he couldn't help but think that he didn't want his soulmate if it wasn't Minho. He didn't want anything but Minho.

 

~~~

 

  Jisung woke up to the sound of his alarm much louder than he felt necessary. He felt around his bed for his phone, swiping away the alarm, and noticing the lack of Minho's warmth beside him. It wasn't out of the ordinary, but Jisung would be lying if he said it wasn't disappointing. Minho had classes and things to do, though, so Jisung had no one to hate but the universe. He was no stranger to that.

  He rolled out of bed slowly, landing on the ground. Hyunjin wasn't in the room, either, and it felt strangely empty. Jisung had a class in an hour and a half, so he pulled on a pair of sweatpants and an emerald green hoodie he knew to be the one Minho wore the day before. It smelled like coffee and Febreze. Jisung smiled.

  Jisung looked around the room to see a pink sticky note on his mirror and grinned.

    _Goodbye._

_-LMH_

    Jisung sighed.


	2. Error

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goodbye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A fast update! It's also not as long as I was planning, but I covered everything I intended to. I hope you enjoy!

  The note was exceptionally vague. Jisung even thought it was a little bit ominous. Jisung tended to worry about stuff way too much, but a lack of cheesy pick-up lines wasn't usually one of them. He shrugged it off and finished getting ready for class. He stopped for coffee. Minho wasn't working. His heart dropped uncomfortably, and his feet hit the pavement with too much weight as he started towards the music building.

[Me:

  Hey ♥️]

  Jisung sighed heavily and put his phone away. Jisung always hated class. Ever since middle school, going to class and trying to pay attention was his biggest downfall. It was the same in high school, and would probably persist until he graduated. It's not that he hated learning or even the subjects themselves, but the whole ritual of showing up and listening to someone talk for an hour and a half seemed useless at best and brain-rotting at worst. Missing Minho, as he often did, just put an extra level of unbearability onto his time in class.

  Jisung checked his phone as soon as the class was over.

[Me:

  Hey ♥️

_ Error. Message not sent. _ ]

  Jisung silently cursed his service provider. He clicked the text to send it again as he walked out of the building to where he usually found Felix, Jeongin, and Seungmin hanging out before their next class. The message failed to send again. Jisung sighed.

  “Hey, Ji!” Felix greeted.

  “Hey, Lix,” Jisung returned with a smile. He sat down on the staircase next to Seungmin and laughed as Seungmin elbowed him in disgust.

  “How's class?” Jisung asked.

  Jeongin let out a loud tortured noise.

  “I second that,” Seungmin said.

  “Mood,” Felix echoed. “I just want to go back to sleep.”

  Jisung grinned. “I only have one other class today this semester. So I can go crash afterwards.”

  “I hate being a freshman,” Felix complained loudly.

  Jisung checked his phone again. The message still wouldn't send. “Stupid terrible cell service,” he muttered.

  “Yeah, it sucks,” Seungmin agreed.

  “Have any of you seen Minho?” Jisung asked. “My phone's being stupid.”

  Felix shook his head. “He's in my next class, so I'll see him then?”

  “Tell him my phone is being stupid. And that I love him.”

  “I'm only telling him the first thing,” Felix teased, punching him lightly. Jisung made a face at him.

  “Worst messenger ever.”

  Seungmin stood slowly. “I have to go find Hyunjin,” he said.

  “You're not leaving me alone with them,” Jeongin said, gesturing towards Felix and Jisung.

  “Wait, so being around Seungmin and  _ Hyunjin _ is better than us?” Felix asked.

  “They may be gay but they aren't dangerous,” Jeongin answered as the two of them walked off.

  Jisung felt much better by the time he went to his next class. He even half paid attention for some of it. Still, he was going to wing the project and turn it in basically late, but he was making mental strides in the right direction. He returned to his dorm afterwards and flopped down on his bed.

  He had hardly closed his eyes to take the aforementioned nap when the door flew open.

  “Hey,” Jisung said, turning to see Hyunjin and Felix, sweaty from their dance class they had before. “Did you tell Minho the message?” 

  Felix ran a hand through his hair. “He actually wasn't there. Maybe he's sick?”

  Jisung sat up quickly and found Minho's contact on his phone. He pressed the call button and listened intently.

_ Beep. Beep. Beep. _

  It didn't even ring.

  “Felix? Can you try to call Minho?” Jisung asked, hands shaking. “What if something happened to him? Oh, God-”

  Felix dialed the number.

  “It didn't go through. And I talked to my mom earlier, so I know my phone works.”

  Hyunjin placed a comforting hand on Jisung's shoulder. “Maybe there's something wrong with his phone. He could be sick and just didn't charge it?”

  Jisung nodded, more to reassure himself than anything. He was worried. It had been at least twelve hours since he last heard from Minho, which usually only happened if all that time was spent sleeping. Jisung’s waking hours were spent with Minho, texting Minho, or talking about Minho. Now, there was another layer of it - worrying about Minho. Jisung wouldn't be able to live with himself if he was dead or something. He knew it was unlikely. He decided to wait it out.

  Jisung managed to fall asleep. Hyunjin stayed in the dorm, which made it feel a lot nicer, even though the room didn't smell like coffee or Febreze. He woke up around six-thirty and started to eat from the box of cereal he kept under his bed. 

  “You look rough,” Hyunjin noticed, glancing up from his textbook.

  “I feel dead.”

  “I can tell,” he said. “You're worried about Minho?”

  Jisung nodded. He checked his phone again out of hope. Nothing. He dialed Minho's number again.

_ Beep. Beep _ .

  He flopped back down on his mattress and let out a loud groan. Hyunjin snorted. “You should go ask Chris.”

  “You just don't want to deal with me.”

  “No,” Hyunjin argued. “It just worked last time, right?”

  Hyunjin was right. Last time he asked Chris for advice, he got a super hot boyfriend without even trying. Jisung didn't really know how he managed that one. He reluctantly dragged himself out of bed and down the hallway. He knocked weakly on the door.

  “Come in!”

  Jisung opened the door and fell down on the nearest mattress.

  “Ow.”

  There was already a Woojin on the mattress, facedown and annoyed. Jisung just cuddled into the back of his shoulder. 

  “What's up?” Chris asked. “You don't look so good?”

  “I haven't seen Minho all day. And my texts and calls aren't going through. I'm really worried.”

  Chris thought for a second.

  “Woojin, he's your roommate. Have you seen him?”

  “Minho is Woojin's roommate?”

  “Did Minho not tell you?” Chris asked, raising an eyebrow.

  Jisung shrugged, though he was still laying on top of Woojin, so it didn't really communicate much. Woojin was snoring softly into the comforter. Jisung huffed in disappointment and rolled off. “No one knows anything, and my source of information is out of commission.”

  Chris turned to look at him and rolled his eyes. “Really, you should just wait until tomorrow. I'm sure he's fine, yeah?”

  Jisung listened to Chris. He went back to his dorm, finding Hyunjin had already left to go somewhere, and sat down at his desk to work. Yes, work. Jisung was going to work. He had assignments due the next week, and maybe using the time without Minho to catch up would make him less stressed. He could spend even more time with Minho when he finally answered his texts.

[Me:

  Hey ♥️

_ Error. Message not sent. _

Me:

  Respond when you can, please.

_ Error. Message not sent. _ ]

  Another phone call. No response.

  Ten minutes of work, and Jisung felt it like an annoying insect just inside his field of vision.

_ Beep. Beep. Beep. _

__ He typed unproductively for another sentence and a half.

_ Beep. Beep. Beep. _

__ Jisung threw his phone onto his mattress, not caring that it bounced off and onto the hardwood floor. He threw himself down onto the bed and stared at the ceiling, beige like the whites of Minho's eyes, and realized that he is just too whipped for this level of neglect. He was worried. The idea that Minho was suffering in any way and Jisung wasn't allowed to help ate him up inside, weighed him down and pressed him further into the mattress until he had no option but to fall asleep.

 

~~~

 

[Me:

  Hey ♥️

_ Error. Message not sent. _

Me:

  Respond when you can, please.

_ Error. Message not sent. _

Me:

  Minnie?

_ Error. Message not sent. _ ]

  Jisung was desperate.

  It was close to four in the morning. His sleep was disturbed by the absence of Minho's chest underneath him, so he was squinting at his phone, absentmindedly scrolling through Instagram. He wanted to find the picture Minho had posted of the two of them on Christmas, in front of Felix's house. He had changed his lock screen to one of Hyunjin's stupid facial expressions and wanted to change it back.

  Jisung tried to find the picture, but ultimately failed to even located Minho's Instagram. He tried Twitter instead.

  He squinted hard at the words.

_ You are blocked from following @iknowminho and viewing @iknowminho’s Tweets. _

__ There was a sense of emptiness that settled quickly in Jisung's throat, and a hard sob threatened to escape. He stumbled out of the dorm room and down the hallway, knocking quietly on the familiar wooden door, light still shining from underneath it.

  “Who is it?”

  “It's Jisung,” he choked. He hastily wiped the tears from his face. He could be overreacting. Maybe someone stole Minho's phone. Maybe. A million maybes ghosted around Jisung's brain and a pair of strong arms pulled him in a hug.

  “What's wrong?” Chris asked, pulling him into the room and closing the door.

  Jisung noticed Woojin sitting on the floor, an unreadable expression on his face. Chris's music production software was still open on his desktop. Jisung handed Chris his phone with a hiccup.

  Chris's eyebrows furrowed as he pulled out his phone. “He… he blocked me, too,” he muttered.

  Jisung let out a wretched sob. “I don't understand,” he struggled out. “I don't understand.”

  Chris hugged him again, a soothing hand on the back of his head.

  “I just want to know if he's okay,” Jisung said.

  “He is.”

  Jisung turned towards Woojin, who was looking down at his lap. “I can't tell you much. But he's alive. He's not sick,” he explained.

  “You… what did he tell you?” Jisung asked, eyes wide.

  Woojin didn't answer, but Chris stared at him with some level of anger mixed with understanding.  “Take me to your dorm.”

  “What?” Woojin asked.

  “Take me to your dorm. Minho lives there, right? Take me there.”

   Chris let go of him. “Jisung-”

  “We're going,” Jisung sobbed.

  “We live in a different building-” Woojin started.

  “Does it look like I care?” he asked. 

  The three of them were silent before Woojin stood and walked out of the room, Jisung behind him.

  They were quiet until they got out into the cold, dark, early morning air. “Jisung, I just want to say that I'm sorry.”

  “You don't have anything to apologize for,” Jisung muttered. His tears had dried, leaving him feeling empty and worn out, walking down the sidewalk in his slippers and pajamas.

  Woojin sighed. “That's not what I meant.”

  They entered the dorm building and climbed the stairs to the third floor. Woojin sniffled and unlocked the door to the room.

  It was clean, almost impossibly so. One half of the room had band posters and pictures of Woojin and Chan taped onto the wall, a guitar leaning against the wall closest to the door. The other side of the room was empty. There wasn't anything on the floor, on the walls, on the desk. The bed was empty of blankets and sheets. Jisung felt sobs well up in his lungs again.

  He threw open the drawers in the dresser on the empty side - Minho's side - just to find them barren like the rest of the room. The closet was in a similar state, but the whole room still smelled like coffee, and the trash can in the corner was filled with wadded up pink sticky notes.

  Jisung felt the white noise and the sound of his own voice crack, left in total silence, and he sat down on the floor. “He left me.”

  Woojin nodded slowly.

  “He… he left me.”

  Jisung cried until his voice was hoarse and he ran out of tears, eventually lulling himself to sleep on the floor of Minho's dorm room. 

 

~~~

 

  “-left. Woojin doesn't know where he went.”

  “What are we supposed to do?”

  “I don't know, Lix.”

  He opened his eyes, crusted with dried tears, feeling strangely weightless. He looked up to see Hyunjin and Felix, standing in his dorm room, and Jisung was in his own bed. He rubbed his eyes.

  “Jisung,” Felix said, rushing over to hug him. His eyes were puffy and red, and his grip was weak on Jisung's shoulders. “How are you?”

  “Minho,” he struggled out, clutching the back of Felix's sweatshirt.

  “I know,” Felix struggled out. “I know.”

  Hyunjin ran a hand through his hair. “I can't believe he did this. What the Hell was he thinking?”

  “Hyunjin, I'm sure there's a reason-”

  “I don't doubt it. But he didn't tell anyone where he was going. He  _ blocked  _ all of us. There's something royally wrong with him if he thought-”

  “Hyunjin,” Jisung said. His voice was weak and his vocal chords were wearing thin, but Hyunjin's expression noticeably softened.

  Jisung checked his phone. It was nine in the morning. “Go to class,” Jisung muttered, burying himself under his blankets as if it would offer any comfort.

  “I am  _ not  _ going to leave you here alone,” Hyunjin said angrily.

  “Please. I need to be by myself,” Jisung said.

  Hyunjin opened his mouth to speak, but closed it into a firm line as he grabbed his backpack and left the room. Felix gave him a sad look as he left, turning the light off to leave Jisung in darkness other than the inappropriate sunshine out the window.

  Jisung felt more tears pricking his eyes.

[Me:

  Hey ♥️

_ Error. Message not sent. _

Me:

  Respond when you can, please.

_ Error. Message not sent. _

Me:

  Minnie?

_ Error. Message not sent. _

Me:

  I love you so much

_ Error. Message not sent. _ ]

  He stared into the darkness, letting his muscles go limp. It struck him that he wasn't going to heal. He could see himself staring into space and feeling this way for as long as it takes to die of natural causes. He rubbed his eyes with the back his sleeve - Minho's sleeve. His face was rubbed raw from crying and it was only going to get worse.

  There was a soft knock on his door.

  Jisung couldn't bring himself to answer.

  “Jisung? It's Jeongin. Can I… can I come in?”

  Jisung found the strength to reply. The door opened slowly, and a hunched form entered the dark room. Jeongin quietly made his way to Jisung's side and cuddled into him.

  “Are you okay?” Jisung asked.

  Jeongin shook his head into his sweatshirt. “Seungmin… thought it was weird that I'm so upset.”

  “Is this about…”

  “Yeah,” Jeongin sighed. “I'm so sorry.”

  Jisung sniffled wetly. “I miss him a lot, Innie.”

  “Are you going to forever?”

  “I think so.”

  Jeongin carefully took hold of Jisung's hand. It felt comforting. “I know you and Minho didn't know if you were soulmates or not, but… I think you are.”

  “I kind of thought that too. But,” Jisung whispered, interrupted by a wet sob, “He left me anyway.”

  “Maybe it's more complicated than that?” Jeongin suggested.

  Jisung knew that everything is complicated. Nothing is easy. In fact, he'd argue that oversimplifying the current situation was still complicated. In the plainest terms, Jisung loved Minho, and then Minho left without a word.

  “Woojin is the only one who knows anything, and he won't tell me much,” Jisung said.

  “Are you going to look for him?”

  “I don't know if he wants me to.”

  Jeongin stirred and hugged closer to Jisung, facing him. “Minho can be an idiot sometimes.”

  Jisung laughed, wiping his tears again. “Yeah, Innie. He can,” he said, running a hand through Jeongin's hair in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. “Don't you have a class?”

  “I don't think I can go today.”

  Jisung hummed in recognition.

 

~~~

 

  “Sungie?”

  “Don't call me that.”

  Chris sighed. “It's been three days.”

  “Three days since the love of my life left me without a word,” Jisung spat.

  “I know,” Chris admitted. “I can't imagine. But don't you think you should keep going to class?”

  “Does it look like I can go to class?”

  Jisung hadn't showered since the night he went to Minho and Woojin's dorm room. He'd stared into space, slept, and occasionally stalked Minho's social media while logged out of his accounts. He'd only eaten when Felix or Chris made him. He hadn't left the dorm room, answered his text messages, or felt true peace. He felt like he was overreacting, but he couldn't find it in him to be okay.

  “Please, just, take a shower,” Chris said. “Please?”

  Jisung stared at the pattern of the wooden floor for a few seconds. “Fine.”

  Jisung did take a shower. He spent a large portion of it feeling the water on his back and letting it bring him back to tears, but he felt better when he left. He walked with his shoulders less slumped over, and he wore something that wasn't Minho's dark green sweatshirt. He wore Minho's orange sweatshirt. If Jisung was planning on taking any steps at all, they were going to be small and tortuous. If he had learned anything from Minho, it was how to be painfully stubborn.

  He returned to his dorm room to a proud Chris. “I guess I can go to class,” Jisung muttered. “Tomorrow.”

  Chris smiled softly. “I know… that this is really hard for you.”

  Jisung nodded. He couldn't cry about it as much anymore. His joints were heavy and his lungs burned from hyperventilation. He figured he was just bored. Bored of missing Minho.

  Sitting next to Minho's empty seat in music history was a reminder, though, that Jisung wasn't allowed to just be bored of feeling sad. There was a void next to him, around him, at the coffee shop when he ordered his sugary drink, in his words when he talked about his day with his friends. Everyone still looked at him with pity, and he cried at least twice daily, but he struggled through a week of classes and turned in all his assignments.

  It struck Jisung as he sat in his room in the dark on a Friday night that he wasn't allowed to just forget about it, either. He returned to checking Minho's social media whenever he had nothing to do. There were updates. Minho was okay. He smiled wide and winked in his Instagram photos, left his stupid captions, and he deleted every picture of Jisung from his profile. There was a gap between September and March, the months they were together. Jisung knew he had been thrown out, forcibly forgotten, and rejected. He felt that dent in his self esteem every time his mind wasn't busy. Jisung did a lot of work those days.

  It got to him too much. He needed answers, or else he was going to spend the rest of his life in one of Minho's sweatshirts. Jisung had just found a plastic container Minho delivered him cookies in once and sobbed for ten minutes when he decided to go find the one person who has any answers.

  “Chris? Is Woojin there?” Jisung asked, not even opening the door to the dorm.

  “No, he's at his dorm room? Why? And how are you feeling?” Chris answered, opening the door and looking concerned but unsurprised by his red eyes.

  “I'm fine. Thanks.”

  Jisung walked as fast as he could to Woojin's dorm building. He took the stairs two at a time and knocked harshly on Woojin's door.

  “Who is it?”

  “Jisung.”

  “Come in,” he said reluctantly.

  Jisung opened the door, and his heart still hollowed at the site of Minho's empty half of the room. But his eyes met a pile of half-crumpled pink sticky notes on Minho's desk.

  “Where did you get those?” Jisung asked, pointing.

  Woojin sighed. “I wanted to know where he went, too. There’s… some stuff in there. Not a lot. I don't know if you want to read them.”

  Jisung approached the desk.

_ I love you. I'm sorry. Goodbye. _

_       -LMH _

  He breathed in slowly through his nose.

_ I'll always love you, Sungie. _

_      -LMH _

_   Goodbye. I'm never going to forget you. _

_       -LMH _

_   Thank you for loving me. Goodbye. _

_      -LMH _

__ There were several other drafts, so much more specific than the note Jisung actually ended up with. There were some with cheesy pick-up lines, presumably trashed a long time ago, and Jisung laughed while reading them. He hardly noticed that he was crying again. 

  “Why did he leave if he loves me?” Jisung asked, more to the air than to anyone.

   “I don't know,” Woojin answered. “People do weird things, Jisung.”

  “You're telling me.”

  Jisung turned around to find Woojin standing next to him. Jisung hugged him instinctively. Woojin was Jisung's mom after he came to university. Hugging him felt just as comforting.

  “I should go back to my dorm,” Jisung said, sniffling loudly.

  “Do you want me to walk with you?”

  “No, it's fine. I need some time to think.”

  Woojin let him go, and Jisung trudged out of the building.

  Clearly, Minho was lying about still loving him. There was no explanation in Jisung's mind that made any more sense. The problem was that Minho was fundamentally an honest person. He didn't lie to preserve anyone's feelings, even Jisung's. It was relieving to know that, most likely, Minho always loved him. The problem reemerged when Jisung tried to find why he left.

  Minho could have been protecting him from something, like a super villain or a drug lord. Jisung laughed at himself for even entertaining the idea. Minho was still in Seoul, based on his social media posts, and doing relatively fine if you ignored the occasional retweet of angst-filled lyrics. Jisung really did see everything he posted. He had reached top levels of internet stalking. He felt mostly justified in it, since he had no contact with Minho, and Minho was his boyfriend.

  Was he?

  Minho  _ was  _ Jisung's boyfriend, when they still knew each other. Jisung figured that, just maybe, he had an ex-boyfriend. He shook it off. He was taking things one massive, life-altering problem at a time.

 

~~~

 

[Me:

  Hey ♥️

_ Error. Message not sent. _

Me:

  Respond when you can, please.

_ Error. Message not sent. _

Me:

  Minnie?

_ Error. Message not sent. _

Me:

  I love you so much

_ Error. Message not sent. _

Me:

  I miss you a lot

_ Error. Message not sent. _

Me:

  I read your notes. I just wish I understood why you left

_ Error. Message not sent. _

Me:

  I'll always love you, too, Minho

_ Error. Message not sent. _ ]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oOF. How are we doing? I'll update again as soon as possible!


	3. You Look Different

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been a long month.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there! I'm back yet again! That was fast, huh?
> 
> I've been really motivated to write this, honestly. I realized I need to branch out more with my writing, which I will definitely be doing in coming months. (All I write is non-idol AU strangers-to-lovers. Seriously.)
> 
> Just a heads up for you all. I hope you enjoy!

  Jisung was fine. Sort of. He spent a bunch of time with Jeongin, as they were the only two left alone, and going through the motions. He went to class. He bought coffee with too much sugar and milk. He cried into Minho's sweatshirt, hung Minho’s notes up on his wall, and stalking Minho's social media. He had fallen into a routine and couldn't imagine doing anything else. He was even starting to forget the feeling of Minho's arms around him and the sound of his beautiful laughter. Jisung figured he might be moving on. The remembrance still haunted him, but he was so afraid to forget.

  More than anything, Jisung was terrified of life without Minho, whether he would miss him or not. He was under the impression that he would never be without Minho's snarky comments or perfect face. He was sad in a new, empty, scarring way.

  Jisung woke up on the one month anniversary of Minho's leaving and rubbed sleep from his eyes to better stare blankly at the ceiling. His breath still hurt in a way that only hours of sobbing could have caused. He had a perpetual cold ever since that week, and he didn't have the strength to recover at any reasonable pace. Chris brought him medicine sometimes, but cough drops only did so much for Jisung's broken existence.

  Jisung shook off his thoughts. He'd had them so many times that even he was getting bored of the echoing in his cranium. It was so loud.

  He rolled out of bed carefully, being wary of the clothes on his floor so he wouldn't trip, and pulled on Minho's green sweatshirt and a pair of jeans. He didn't have class that day, but staying in bed would only make him drown in self-pity and blankets. He looked into the mirror briefly, running a hand through his hair. Something about him seemed different, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was. He huffed in frustration.

  There was a large sound of exhaustion from the other half of the room, but it was distinctly not like Hyunjin's voice.

  “Be quiet,” Seungmin grumbled loudly.

  “I like it better when you two are in Jeongin's room,” Jisung said back.

  “...this isn't Jeongin's room?” Hyunjin asked, sitting up and glancing around.

  Jisung laughed in exasperation. “I'm going to hang out with Felix.”

  “But Changbin-”

  “I didn't ask, Hwang.”

  He closed the door behind him much harder than anticipated.

  Jisung didn't go see Felix. The threat of Changbin's presence was nearly palpable. Changbin and Felix together was a recipe for disaster in Jisung's psyche. He, instead, paid a visit to his actual favorite freshman.

  “Hey, Jisungie,” Jeongin said from his bed as Jisung entered unannounced.

  “Hello.”

  Jisung flopped down over Jeongin's legs.

  “Seungmin’s in your room?”

  Jisung nodded into the blankets and Jeongin clicked his tongue knowingly. “I know how they are.”

  “I'm so sorry you have to put up with them all the time.”

  “It wouldn't be so bad if Hyunjin wasn't more obsessed with me than he is with Minnie.”

  Jisung laughed. “You're just too cute,” he sing-songed, turning over the reaching up to pinch Jeongin's cheek. He swatted him away.

  “You look different today,” Jeongin said passively. “Did you get a haircut?”

  Jisung laughed, running a hand through his extremely overgrown dark hair. His bangs covered his eyes most of the time, and it was dangerously close to being classified as a mullet. “No, I noticed that too,” he said. “Weird, isn't it?”

  Jeongin nodded thoughtfully. “Maybe you're getting even uglier.”

  Jisung stifled a laugh and pinched Jeongin's cheek again. “You're so mean!”

  Jeongin giggled in a high-pitched tone and whined loudly, eventually shaking off Jisung's hand. “Maybe I will go hang out with Felix and Changbin,” Jisung threatened.

  “You won't do that.”

  “You're totally right.

  The door to the dorm opened suddenly, causing Jisung to jump dramatically and nearly fall off Jeongin's bed. “Yo,” Seungmin said flatly. “Calm down.”

  “Calm down,” Jisung mocked back in a ridiculous voice. Seungmin scowled at him as he sat down at his desk.

  “What are you doing?” Jeongin asked, in a kind of accusatory voice as if Seungmin was committing mass identity theft.

  “Homework,” Seungmin answered.

  “It's Saturday,” Jisung said.

  “Okay?”

  Jisung was silent for all of two seconds. “...did Hyunjin go to class?”

  Seungmin's face noticeably reddened. “Yes.”

  Jisung cackled in satisfaction, but was rudely interrupted by the dorm room swinging open again. Jeongin laughed when he flinched.

  “Ji! You weren't in your room!” Felix said accusingly. 

  “Seungmin and Hyunjin were in there.”

  “They aren't anymore,” Felix said.

  “I'm not moving.”

  Felix conceded the point and sat down on Jeongin's mattress. Jeongin complained quietly about them “breaking the bed frame” or something along those lines, but Felix didn't acknowledge it.

  “You look different,” Felix said, looking quizzically at Jisung's face.

  “I  _ know. _ I don't know what it is,” he huffed.

  “You're glowing,” Felix teased. “Are you pregnant?”

  Seungmin laughed loudly from his desk.

  “Yes,” Jisung answered. “I'm sorry you all had to find out this way.”

  All four of them laughed.

  “Are you feeling better?” Felix asked.

  “Man, I don't really wanna talk about it,” Jisung whined. “All I do is think about it, I don't wanna talk about it it, too, I mean-”

  “Then stop  _ talking, _ ” Seungmin interrupted.

  “Ya! I'm older than you!”

  “And yet you have a quarter as many brain cells.”

  “Oooohhh,” Jeongin teased.

  Jisung made a face and buried himself further into the mattress.

  In the brief moment of silence, the door to the dorm opened again, earning a loud cry of anguish from Seungmin. “Oh my  _ God, _ this is a two person dorm! What are you all doing in here?”

  Chan raised his shoulders and sheepishly. “Woojin went with Changbin to the recording studio for a project,” he said. He sat down in front of Jeongin's bed, leaning back to put his head on the mattress.

  “All around me are familiar faces,” Felix sang, adorned with plenty of artificial voice cracks. Jisung could swear he recognized the song, and Chan definitely did, because he laughed loudly and slapped Felix's shin in annoyance.

  “Okay, Chris,” Felix said. “Does Jisung look different?”

  Chris turned around and examined Jisung's face. Jisung blew his cheeks out dramatically just to make him laugh. It worked.

  “Yeah, something about him is different,” Chan agreed. “You really need to get more sleep.”

  “I do sleep!” Jisung argued. “All the time. Constantly. Stop projecting.”

  Chan dramatically held his hand over his heart as if he had been stabbed. “You hurt me, Jisung.”

  Jisung laughed. “Are we gonna do anything today?” he asked.

  “Jisung wants to go out?” Felix questioned. “Are you feeling okay?” He pressed the back of his hand to Jisung's forehead.

  “Yah,” Jisung complained half-heartedly. 

  “I don't have my mans,” Chan whined.

  Jisung snorted “That makes…” he counted all of them on his fingers, “five of us. It'll be fun!”

  Jeongin bounced excitedly, jostling Jisung around. “I want ice cream!”

  Seungmin sighed. “Okay.”

  “You only ever speak to agree with Jeongin or be mean to me,” Jisung pouted.

  “I'm not sorry.”

  They all made their way out of the dorm building quickly, some getting dressed quickly from Seungmin and Jeongin's closets, and crammed themselves in Woojin's small car.

  “Why do you have Woojin’s keys?” Seungmin asked Chan as he claimed the passenger seat because he was 'too tall’.

  Chan shrugged, not giving an answer, and started the car.

  Jisung was sandwiched between Jeongin and Felix, but none of them were really complaining. He spent a lot of his time cuddling with both of them, so this was just uncomfortable from the forced nature of it.

  The ice cream shop was far away. There was one on campus, but Seungmin assured them all that it tasted like ice. Jisung said that the first word in ice cream is ice. Seungmin called him an idiot.

  Jisung soon had his chocolate ice cream paid for with Chan's money, though, so he didn't complain. They all sat down at a booth. Seungmin was next to Jeongin, with Felix, Jisung, and Chan on the other side. Chan, unlike Jeongin, definitely did complain.

  Seungmin squinted at Jisung.

  “You got a problem?” Jisung asked through a mouthful of ice cream.

  “Don't talk with your mouth full,” he said, disgusted. “Are you wearing colored contacts?”

  Jeongin turned to look at him. His eyes widened. “You are! That's what's different.”

  “Okay, I have no clue what you're talking about,” Jisung admitted. 

  Felix agreed with Seungmin and Jeongin. “They're, like, silver.”

  “Are you messing with me?” Jisung asked slowly.

  “Are you messing with us?” Jeongin retaliated.

  Jisung rolled his eyes and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He opened his front camera and swept his bangs out of his face.

  Sure enough, his eyes were a medium steely silver, a considerable difference from the dark brown irises he grew up with, but subtle enough that it could be easily overlooked. He stared at them for a period of time, mouth agape in awe. He liked it. He liked it a lot.

  Second, though, Jisung was confused. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked up at his friends. “What. The. Hell.”

  “Language!” Jeongin scolded.

  Chan took in a slow, thoughtful breath. “This could be your soulmate bond, Jisung.”

  Jisung froze.

  Soulmate bond.

_ Soulmate bond. _

__ “Minho,” he whispered, overwhelmed tears in his eyes.

  “Hey, Sungie, it's okay,” Felix tried to assure him. “Breathe.”

  Jisung was already navigating his way to Minho's Instagram, desperate for any answers he might be able to find, his eyes scanning the page for the newest post.

  Minho was smirking, one eye closed in a wink, and hand running through his steely silver hair.

  Silver hair.

  Jisung's hands shaking, his put his phone down on the table. Seungmin immediately grabbed it, showing it to Jeongin as he took in the information.

  Jisung felt Felix's arms around him.

  “It's Minho,” he babbled. “Minho is my soulmate.”

  “I think this surprises absolutely no one,” Seungmin said, but his voice was soft and considerate. 

  Jisung didn't really register how they got back to Chan's car, with him clinging to Felix like his life depended on it. “...Minho's my soulmate,” Jisung said after a bit.

  “Yes, Jisung,” Chan affirmed.

  “I mean, are you absolutely certain?” Jeongin asked. “I'm pretty sure, especially seeing the two of you, but is there any way you can be  _ absolutely _ certain?”

  Felix turned. “Jeongin-”

  “He's right,” Jisung mumbled into Felix's shoulder. “I'm not entirely certain.”

  “Well,” Chan said, still not taking his eyes off the road. “That means that, as soon as you've collected yourself, we're going to a salon.”

  Felix furrowed his eyebrows. “I mean, Jisung does need a haircut, but I don't really understand-”

  “To get his hair dyed, you absolute fucking-”

  “Seungmin!” Chan said, a warning in his tone. 

  “... I'm sorry, Felix.”

  “I forgive you, Minnie,” Felix said sweetly, insult totally forgotten.

  “Anyway,” Chan said. “Pick a color, a noticeable one, and I'll set up an appointment for tomorrow.”

  “How are you going to get an appointment for tomorrow?” Seungmin asked.

  “I know people.”

  “...be more specific?” Jeongin asked.

  “The tattoo parlor Changbin works at is connected to a hair salon,” he said.

  “Wait, does Changbin even have tattoos?” Jeongin asked.

  “Yes,” Felix answered quickly.

  “Where?” Jeongin asked. “I've never seen them.”

  Felix opened his mouth to answer before he closed it again. His face turned warm enough Jisung could feel it.

  “This is easily the worst information I have ever been forced to obtain,” Seungmin said.

  Jisung laughed.

 

~~~

 

   While scrolling through pictures on Pinterest of hair dye, Jisung was hardly thinking about colors. He was thinking about Minho.

  Jisung lived his whole life believing he was soulmate-less. He thought he'd be alone forever, because the universe thought he was unworthy of love. But Jisung had Minho, his boyfriend undictated by the powers that be. Minho chose him, and Jisung chose him back, and the universe let him stay that way. And now, Minho, the love of Jisung's life, was his soulmate. Most likely. He didn't want to get his hopes up if it wasn't true.

  This would be perfect if Minho hadn't already rejected him.

  Jisung was, he realized, the only one who knew they were soulmates. Minho was blissfully unaware of all the turmoil in his life for the past month, and even more unknowing of the events of the last six hours. He would cross the 'contacting Minho’ bridge when he got to it.

  Jisung did pick a color, though. It was a yellow honey blonde color, possibly a natural one for someone much more Caucasian than him. He thought it would look nice. And Felix was definitely right about him needing a haircut.

  Hyunjin walked into the dorm to Jisung staring at himself in the mirror. “I got a message from Felix,” he said hurriedly. “Minho is your soulmate?”

  Jisung sighed. “I think so.”

  “That's great news!” he said. “What are you going to do?”

  “That's a really hard question to answer.”

  “Fair enough.”

  Hyunjin left the room again, presumably to find Seungmin. He missed Minho more than ever. He wasn't more sad about his absence, because nothing could compare to his mental state before, but the emptiness in his heart was more consuming, more heavy. If he never got Minho back now, it would just be exponentially more painful.

  Jisung couldn't stop staring at his eyes. He had done research about his soulmate bond, and it was a relatively uncommon one called oculocutaneous correlation. And, for God's sake, Jisung lived in  _ Asia _ \- a continent almost entirely made up of dark haired, dark eyed people. It was cruel. Jisung may have forgiven the universe partially because it had given him Minho, but he hated it for doing it's damnedest to give him no one at all.

  “Jisung.”

  “What?”

  “Have you been staring into the mirror ever since I left?”

  He turned to face Hyunjin.

  “...how long have you been gone?”

  “Almost an hour.”

  Jisung sighed, defeated, and leaned against his bed frame. “I'm stressed, Hyunjin.”

  “You need to go to a party or something,” he said. “I mean, it's Saturday.”

  Jisung didn't even think about it. “You know I'm not going to do that. That's so cliche. And I hate parties.”

  “You fell in love with a barista,” Hyunjin pointed out.

  “At least he didn't call me an idiot the first time he spoke to me,” Jisung argued.

  Hyunjin laughed. “That's a fair point.”

  Jisung opted for lying on his bed instead of standing up any longer. “My life is a mess, Hyunjinnie.”

  “Welcome to college.”

  Jisung let out a long agonized noise.

  “I also heard that Changbin has tattoos,” Hyunjin said, changing the subject. “I'm on a mission to find out where and what they are.”

  Jisung snorted. “Ask Felix. He seems to be the only one who knows.”

  “I'll get on it,” he said. “But you have to try to manipulate Changbin into telling you.”

  “Shouldn't this be the other way around? Felix is my best friend, and you and Changbin are close.”

  “It's more fun this way.”

  Jisung sighed. “If Changbin punches me and breaks my nose, you're paying my medical bills.”

  “Deal.”

 

~~~

 

  “Appointment for Han Jisung?”

  “I could have done this by myself,” Jisung complained. He was grateful for Chan's accompaniment, honestly, but he felt bad for taking up so much of his time. Jisung had made himself the center of attention ever since Minho left, but he didn't know how to apologize for it. He made a mental note to pay everyone back.

  “Yo!”

  Jisung turned to see Changbin, sleeves of his black t-shirt pushed up to show his shoulders. No tattoos.

  Chan fist-bumped him quickly with a smile. “You busy?”

  Changbin shrugged. “No one's in right now. I can't dye Jisung's hair, though.”

  “I don't trust you, anyway.”

  “I'm offended, but not surprised.”

  The hairstylist was a quiet girl with a sweet smile who didn't strike Jisung as the type to talk a lot. He appreciated that, because he kind of wanted to ramble to Chan the whole time instead of making small talk with a stranger. If he was left alone with his thoughts, he may explode.

  “So, what are we thinking today?” the girl asked quietly, fluffing Jisung's hair with her fingers.

  Jisung quickly pulled up the picture he had found the day before on his phone and handed it to her. She nodded and hurried off.

  “What color did you choose?” Changbin asked, pulling a chair over and sitting in it backwards. He acted the part of such a cliche “bad boy” that it made Jisung laugh.

  “Blond,” he answered with a shrug.

  “You're giving Minho  _ blond  _ eyes? Dude, that's gonna be terrifying,” Changbin said.

  “He abandoned me, Changbin, this is the least I can do,” he bit back, but he smiled to soften it.

  “It'll be noticable,” Chan agreed. “He'll look… interesting.”

  “Minho always looks 'interesting’,” Changbin said with a laugh.

  “Hey!” Jisung said, annoyed.

  Changbin chuckled. “Well, I hope all of this gets fixed.”

  Jisung sighed. “Me too.”

  Chan put a comforting hand on Jisung's forearm for a few seconds. “Even if it doesn't, we'll still be here, yeah?”

  “I don't  _ want _ to be here,” Changbin joked.

  “Wow, I see how it is,” Jisung said.

  “I’m kidding, Sungie. You couldn't get rid of me if you wanted to.”

  Jisung laughed, but the sentiment filled him with some level of comfort. The world wasn't going to end. No matter what.

  The girl returned with a small cup of bleach and a brush. “Are you going to chicken out of this now?” she asked quietly. “I have to ask. Company policy.”

  “Nope.”

  “Cool.”

  She started painting the bleach onto his hair. It was cold. It burned slightly where it made contact with his scalp, but not enough to be considered real pain. “How do you bleach your hair so much?” Jisung asked, looking at Chan.

  Chan shrugged. “Determination. And my hair is straw.”

  Jisung hummed in understanding.

  The girl moved him over to a hair dryer so the bleach would work faster and Chan followed him over. “Are you nervous?”

  “About the color? No, I think it'll look good.”

  “Not about that.”

  Jisung sighed. “Of course I am.”

  “Well, don't be,” Chan said, wringing his hands. “I'll help you find Minho again. Whether he's technically your soulmate or not.”

  Jisung took in a sharp breath.

  Did he want Minho if he wasn't his soulmate?

  Jisung knew he did have a soulmate, somewhere in the world, but he had found Minho. Minho made him feel warm when it was cold, and basked in the sun with him when things were at their sunniest. Minho loved him, at some point, and Jisung still loved Minho. If Jisung's soulmate was someone else, he didn't want them.

  He didn't want his soulmate. He wanted Minho.

  It was a revelation that hadn't ever really struck him before.

  “Jisung, are you crying?”

  He wiped his face. “It's been an emotional month,” he explained.

  Chris laughed lightly. “Understandable.”

  The stylist came over to look at his hair under the foils and nodded approvingly. “I'm gonna wash your hair out now,” she said quietly.

  Jisung nodded and walked with her.

  Jisung was a human, which meant that his favorite thing in the whole world was having his hair washed by a hair stylist. Maybe it was second to the feeling of sitting in Minho's lap with his lip between Minho's teeth and hands scratching lightly down Minho's back, but he really didn’t want to think about that. He let the warm water wash away his thoughts with the bleach from his hair.

  “I’m going to put toner in now,” she said. “Or else it'll look stupid.”

  “Jisung already looks stupid,” Changbin's voice said. Jisung wondered when he got back.

  “You are not being very nice to me,” Jisung informed him.

  “Seo Changbin,” Chan said in a tone of fake authority.

  The stylist washed the toner out carefully. “We’re going back to the styling chair now,” she said, wrapping a towel around his wet hair.

  Jisung followed her there. She took off the towel and fixed the direction of a few stray hairs. “Changbin,” she said, “can you get my hairdryer?”

  “... it's on the top shelf,” Changbin said.

  “I know.”

  “And you're taller than me.”

  Jisung snorted loudly.

  “I know,” the stylist said, stifling a laugh.

  Changbin sighed dramatically and opened a cupboard by the mirror. He stood on his toes to reach the hairdryer. Jisung watched in amusement. Mostly, he noticed when Changbin's shirt rode up to show a flash of yellow-orange and green.

  “You  _ do  _ have tattoos!” Jisung yelled, pointing. Changbin nearly dropped the hairdryer he had managed to retrieve from the cupboard.

  The stylist finally did let out a laugh.

  “It's a sunflower,” he grumbled, pulling his shirt down. “I got it for Felix.”

  “That's the cutest thing I've ever heard,” Jisung said.

  Changbin's face was bright red as he stomped off to the tattoo parlor.

  “He has more sunflowers,” the stylist said. “All up the side of his upper right thigh.”

  Jisung stifled a laugh. “How do you know that?”

  “Maybe I did them.”

  She dried his hair halfway before shutting the dryer off again. “You want me to cut this, right?”

  “Just fix it,” Jisung said.

  She nodded thoughtfully.

 

[Me:

  Jinnie Jinnie Jinnie

 

stupid roommate:

   what????

 

Me:

  I saw Binnie's tattoo

 

stupid roommate:

  what? how?

 

Me:

  Basically he has a sunflower on his stomach

 

Me:

  And the stylist and the salon said he has more on his ass

 

stupid roommate:

   AKSKSKDJS

 

stupid roommate:

  so that's why felix didn't tell us]

 

  “So,” the stylist said, combing his hair into place. “How do you like it?”

  Jisung's hair was still long, giving the same sort of lazy but energetic feeling as before, but it was much cleaner. More noticeable, however, was the color. It was light and warm, drawing attention to his newly gray eyes. Even if it wasn't to find out if Minho was his soulmate, this would have been a good decision.

  “You look good!” Chan said.

  Jisung smiled into the mirror. “It looks really good,” he said. “Thank you.”

  The stylist smiled kindly. “Happy to help.” After a pause, she said, “That doesn't mean you don't have to pay me. This is my job.”

  “No,  _ Chan  _ has to pay you,” Jisung corrected, glancing at Chan, who was pulling out a shiny credit card.

  “No,  _ Felix  _ has to pay you,” he said. “This is his emergency credit card. Put on a 100 percent tip.”

  “Felix? That's Changbin's soulmate,” the stylist said, walking over to the cash register. Jisung and Chan followed.

  “Yeah,” Jisung said. “He's also rich.”

  She smiled and handed back the card. “Tell Felix I said thank you.”

  The two of them left the hair salon. “What now?” Chan asked.

  “There’s nothing to do but wait.”

  When they arrived back at the dorms, things had mostly returned to normal. Hyunjin and Seungmin were out, and Woojin was already in Chan and Changbin's dorm room. Felix was hanging out with Jeongin in Jisung's room, for reasons he didn't understand. He walked in and looked at them quizzically, and their eyes went wide.

  “You look so cool!” Felix enthused, rushing to run his fingers through Jisung's hair. 

  Jisung grinned shyly. “Uh, Chan should be back soon to give back your credit card-”

  “What? He took my  _ credit card? _ ”

  Jisung paused. “No comment.”

  Felix groaned in exasperation and sat down in Jisung's spinning office chair.

  “It looks nice,” Jeongin said.

  “Thanks, Innie,” Jisung replied, poking his cheek.

  “Any news about you-know-who?” Felix asked.

  “You can say Minho, it's fine.”

  “Alright, but that's much more lame. Just answer the question.”

  “No,” Jisung said. “It's been dyed for all of twenty minutes, we have to wait.”

  Jeongin sighed in presumed impatience.

 

~~~

 

  When Jisung stirred awake on Monday morning, long before he had anywhere to be, the first thing he did was roll over and unlock his phone. He went through the ritual of checking Minho's Instagram while logged out of his account. Jisung's eye was immediately drawn to a new post, featuring a rare (for a selfie) sweet smile from Minho. Jisung clicked on it to read the caption.

_ I guess I'm not alone in this world. _

  Jisung looked closer at the picture, wondering what he was getting at, and being met with Minho’s light brown-yellow eyes. The first thing that struck Jisung was that Changbin was right - it was a little bit creepy. Jisung was then struck with something else - realization. Minho was his soulmate. Jisung had a soulmate, and it was  _ Minho _ , the prettiest, nicest, funniest person he had ever met. Jisung was actually struck by a third thing - a pillow, thrown from Hyunjin's side of the room. Jisung looked over to see the glowing of Hyunjin's phone. “He's your soulmate!” he whisper-shouted.

  Jisung let out a happy sigh that became an overwhelmed chuckle. “He is.”

_ He is. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? Are you surprised? Probably not. Well, it's not over yet, so stick around, maybe? I hope you enjoyed!


	4. Light Pollution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Minho!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The updates come so fast when you actually do planning, wow.
> 
> I don't want to say too much. Please enjoy!

  News spreads fast when Hyunjin is your roommate. Really, Jisung should have known this, and maybe he did due to his many run-ins with the phenomenon before, but he still wasn't prepared for all the yelling and questioning he had to deal with on a Monday morning. He vented about this to Felix as they walked to class that day from the coffee shop. “Are you trying to say you  _ don't  _ want to talk about Minho?”

  “No,” Jisung said. “I want to. But mostly I want to talk  _ to  _ Minho. And I haven't really worked out a good way to accomplish that yet.”

  “You just gotta find someone who does have contact with him,” Felix advised.

  “I only have eight friends, Felix.”

  “Not true.”

  “I have acquaintances. And I'm not going to go up to them and be like 'hey, my boyfriend ghosted me, but it turns out we’re soulmates, so I need you to help me find him!’ It'd be weird.”

  “To be fair, everyone already knows he left.”

  “Did Hyunjin tell them?” he asked angrily.

  “No,” Felix said, his voice strong and calm. “You moped about it for three weeks. Understandable, but everyone knew something happened.”

  “Good point,” Jisung said, taking a sip of his coffee. It was warm enough for it to be acceptable to drink iced coffee, which made him extremely happy. Jisung just wanted to drink his ice cream with a splash of coffee and not have anyone judge him for it. He knew Minho would scowl at how sugary it was, and it brought a smile to his face.

  “I gotta go to class,” Felix said. “See you later?”

  “Yep,” Jisung sighed. Felix flashed him a peace sign, and he returned it as he walked into the massive lecture hall for music history - the biggest snoozefest that side of the Han river. Jisung rolled his eyes at just the thought of having to sit there for half an hour. But he did sit there, leaning against the wall, nursing his iced coffee. Five minutes before the class technically ended, Jisung was already out the door and someone had a hand on his wrist.

  “It worked!” Chan enthused.

  “Yah, you scared me,” Jisung complained. “What?”

  “My idea! It worked. To make sure Minho was your soulmate. Hyunjin told me.”

  “To be fair, it wasn't that creative an idea,” Jisung teased.

  Chris smiled lightly and shook his head. “Still. Anyway. I don't know what you’re going to do now, but let me know if you need anything!”

  With that, Chan skipped off to talk to someone else. He was really nice. Jisung couldn't fathom being that helpful all the time. He made his way quickly to the steps out in front of the dorm building. As expected, Seungmin, Felix, and Jeongin were all lounging in the sun, with an unfamiliar student sitting with them. He was short, with dark hair and a bright smile. He looked totally unfamiliar. Jisung slid to sit down next to Jeongin. “What's up?”

  Jeongin greeted him, and Felix and Seungmin nodded to acknowledge his presence. The stranger smiled at him. “Hi!”

  “Hello,” Jisung said. “And who might you be?”

  “My name's Ten,” he said.

  Jisung must have looked confused, because he laughed before speaking again. “It's not my real name. I'm Thai.”

  “Ah,” Jisung said knowingly. “Well, I'm Jisung. Haven't seen you around before.”

  “That's because I'm not a student.”

  Seungmin snorted.

  “Ten graduated,” Felix explained. “He helps in our dance classes sometimes.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Jisung said.

  “Yeah, Felix mentioned something about you being Minho's soulmate,” he said. “I just know a lot about soulmate problems.”

  “Really?” Jisung said, sitting up.

  Ten nodded with a laugh. “I have a skin writing bond. And my soulmate lived in Chicago until I convinced him to come meet me.”

  “That's really cute,” Jisung said with a smile.

  Ten's eyes shone as if he was remembering years of his life at once. Jisung smiled softly. He could tell Ten really did love his soulmate. He wanted that for him and Minho more than he could put into words.

  “Minho graduated early,” Ten said. “He actually wasn't really supposed to come back after the semester ended. He moved out after winter break and got an apartment.”

  Jisung stared at the concrete in confusion. “But Minho didn't leave until March.”

  “I think he meant to cut off contact way earlier. He just didn't for some reason,” Ten said. “I wish I had more information for you.”

  “No, thank you,” Jisung said. “I just wish I knew more.”

  “I have never seen you want to learn about  _ anything _ ,” Seungmin said.

  Jisung rolled his eyes, letting go how Seungmin had only known him for four months.

  “We're gonna get your mans back,” Felix comforted him.

  “We don't even know if he wants me back,” Jisung said. “He's probably not  _ my  _ man.”

  “No, mans. Not man.”

  “What are you  _ saying _ ?” Jeongin asked, confusion etched into his features.

  Jisung shrugged his shoulders and blinked hard. “The point is,” he said. “My life is a fucking mess.”

  Jeongin took in a sharp breath. “Language!”

  “A freaking mess.”

  Jeongin nodded in approval and Jisung dragged his hand across his face in annoyance.

  “Is there any updates from current Minho? Twitter? Instagram?” Felix asked, a hopeful tone behind his voice.

  “No,” Jisung answered. “When we were together, Minho never really talked much about them. I don't think he liked the idea of them very much.”

  “A lot of people don't,” Ten said with a shrug. “Some people just want to be friends with their soulmates. Some people don't like theirs at all.”

  Jisung knew it was possible, but living without your soulmate seemed like something for people who just couldn't find there's. He couldn't understand why anyone would choose someone else, but he remembered how he had felt about Minho. Jisung was ready to give up whatever the universe had given him just to be with Minho, because he loved him. He could understand the logic.

  “Anyway,” Ten said, standing up. “I have another class to help with soon. And I presume you all have better things to do than talk with preachy old man Ten.” With that, he walked back towards the performance hall.

  “I'm so tempted to skip my next class,” Seungmin complained.

  Jisung blinked at him. “Seungmin? Skip class? Are you feeling okay?”

  “I have senioritis.”

  “You're a freshman,” Felix said.

  “Did I stutter?”

  Jisung sighed in understanding. “I've had senioritis since I got into high school.”

  “Why are you even here?” Jeongin deadpanned.

  Jisung let out a laugh at that as they made their way back to into the dorm building.

 

~~~

 

  Jisung actually did go to his second class that day, but he didn't enjoy it in the slightest. He felt like he should be plotting to reunite with Minho, but he had none of the necessary information to actually do that. It was a strange and helpless situation.

  For some reason, a large portion of their nonad - a horrible name for a group of nine, if Jisung said so himself - was busy that day. That left Jisung in his dorm room, Hyunjin lounging in his bed on the other side, with Chan and Changbin lying on the floor between. Jisung was mindlessly scrolling through social media as Changbin and Chan complained about producing. Jisung had been putting off his project, so he just didn't have anything to say.

  “I'm bored,” he complained, repeatedly pulling his black beanie down over his eyes awkwardly before fixing it again.

  Chan snorted. “Hi, bored, I'm-”

  “Shut it,” Changbin threatened.

  Chan rolled over so he was lying on his back on the hardwood floor and lightly hit Changbin’s arm, more just dropping the weight on him than anything.

  Jisung refreshed Instagram again, logged out and checked Minho's Instagram. There was nothing. He sighed, refreshing on instinct. The layout changed and he squinted in confusion.

  There was a new post, of a crowd of people and the dark yet glowing familiarity of Lotte World. Minho wasn't even in the shot, which Jisung thought was quite a shame.

_ Monorail at night time, here I come! _

__ Jisung sat bolt upright. “Minho's at Lotte World.”

  Chan sat up, too. “I'll drive.”

  “Wait, wait,” Changbin said. “Hold up. What makes you think you're going to find him?”

  “He's going to wait in the line for the monorail. And I will wait at the exit.”

  Jisung had no clue he had a plan until he said it out loud. He thanked his masterful improvisation skills.

  “What are you going to  _ say _ ?” Changbin continued.

  “I'll think of it when we get there,” Jisung said, annoyed. “I have to go.”

  Changbin opened his mouth to speak again, but closed it again. His gaze softened. “Don't die out there.”

  Jisung smiled at him and almost sprinted from the room. Chan had to run back to his dorm to grab Woojin's keys, but soon joined him in rushing down the flights of stairs. Jisung felt his heartbeat in his ears. He threw open the door to Woojin's passenger side, frantically buckling his seat belt as Chan pulled out of the parking lot.

  Jisung wasn't really accounting for the fact that they had to sit in Seoul traffic, anyway.

  “Well,” Chan said, his voice carrying no intention to continue speaking. 

  “What  _ am  _ I going to say to Minho?” Jisung asked, more to himself than anything. “I didn't think this through.” He sunk farther into the faux leather seat.

  “Well, what do you want him to know?” Chan said, the car coming to a complete stop in the traffic.

  “That I love him. And that I missed him. And that we're soulmates.”

  “Maybe you can start with that? Minho always likes when people are straightforward.”

  Jisung sighed. “But what if he doesn't want to talk to me?”

  “I'll be around. I'll make him listen.”

  “I'm pretty sure you might get arrested. And I really don't need that right now.”

  Chan laughed breathily. “Well, either way, you'll hopefully get some closure.”

  “As if,” Jisung said, looking down at his shaking hands as the car started moving again. “I don't know what I'll do if he rejects me.”

  Chan didn't say anything, just a corner with a little bit too much enthusiasm.

  “He won't, Jisung,” he said after a bit.

  “How do you know that?”

  “I don't want to assume anything about why Minho left. But I'm almost certain he did it for you.”

  “That's fucking ridiculous,” Jisung said, crossing his arms.

  Chan took in a deep breath. “Maybe. But it might just be true.”

  Jisung stared out the window at the glowing windows of the night. It was impossible to see the stars from all the light pollution, but he never really minded. The city was closer, more tangible, and so much less abstract than space. The city was full of memories and his life. Space had nothing. He'd pick the skyscrapers and neon signs over that any day.

  He couldn't find out what Chan meant. Jisung loved Minho. There was no way that Minho could have meant to help Jisung when he left. Minho must have been unhappy, or facing some ridiculous outside circumstance, because Jisung sure wasn't being helped by anything that was going on. Minho had hurt him. As much as Jisung still loved him, he was hurt by what Minho did, and he had suffered for a long month for it. He felt like he wasn't allowed to forgive Minho yet, even though he just wanted to hold him again.

  “Jisung.”

  He looked over at Chan.

  “It's gonna be okay. Really. No matter what.”

  Jisung smiled sadly and faced back out the window. “Thank you, Chan.”

  “No need to thank me. I can tell that you felt like-”

  “Like a burden,” Jisung finished. “I did. I do. Everyone should have been happy but I wouldn't let them.”

  “Do you remember when Changbin lost Gyu?”

  Jisung laughed. Changbin's stuffed Munchlax was his prized possession and the most important thing in his life - well, before Felix. Changbin had lost it somehow during Jisung's freshman year, and he came to Jisung's room with his lip trembling at midnight on a Wednesday for help.

  Jisung had cried with him at seeing how upset he was, and Chan had, too, though he was back in the dorm searching.

  “I do remember,” he said, smiling fondly.

  “You cried with Changbin over a stuffed animal.”

  “A stuffed Pokemon, actually.”

  Chan laughed. “Yes. But you did that because you're friends. Not because you felt pity for him.”

  “I guess, but that was one night, not a  _ month _ .”

  “Still,” Chan said. “You needed us, so we were there for you, because we wanted to be. Not because we felt obligated.”

  Jisung wiped a few unconscious tears from his face. “God, I'm sorry. Thank you.”

  Jisung didn't realize that Chan had parked until he pulled the key out of the ignition.

  “Let's go,” Chan said.

  Jisung couldn't stop himself from running up to the entrance. He reloaded Minho's Instagram compulsively as they waited in line to pay for their tickets. The line was too long. Jisung was worried he would miss Minho, that he was too late, that his opportunity was already gone. But he reloaded it again and another post was there, of the view from inside the monorail down on the amusement park.

  It was bright and colorful, the darkness of the night creating a beautiful contrast with the happy atmosphere. “Two adults,” Chan said, pulling out what Jisung recognized as Felix's emergency credit card. He made a mental note to apologize for being a drain on his parents’ (massive) bank account.

  Chan got the card back and the two of them were waved through. Jisung walked as fast as he possibly could through the crowds of people in the dark interior. He knew the layout, but he vision was swimming with anxiety. Even as he hurried, hoping to be able to find Minho, he was worrying.

  What if Minho hated him? What if he said that? Jisung should have assumed that Minho leaving him so suddenly meant he didn't want Jisung to ever contact him again. Jisung still came, hunted him down in a way through his social media that Jisung wasn't even allowed to see. It was massively creepy, if he was being honest. What was he even  _ thinking _ coming to see Minho? He wanted to turn around, but he continued to fight his way through the crowds.

  Jisung loved Minho.

  First, last, always, forever, in a way he'd never heard it being felt before.

  Jisung had written a lot of lyrics for his music projects about Minho. The descriptions of fireworks never worked for him. Even this, the glowing light of the amusement park, didn't match how he felt for Minho. Loving Minho was like laying on the grass in the spring - so warm, so bright he could barely open his eyes, so familiar and nostalgic. It made his skin itch and his nose tingle but he wanted it to last forever, and he missed it during the winter. The yellow dandelions stood out like Minho's brand new eyes against his tanned face. Jisung would take whatever allergy medicine he needed to in order to spend time with him.

  Jisung wanted desperately to tell Minho he loved him. He used that harsh burning desire to push himself to the exit of the monorail. He stared blankly.

  Jisung was shaking harder than he had maybe in his entire life, his bones rattling in his body, his eyes unable to stop shooting from face to face. With every person that wasn't Minho, he became more convinced he missed him. He leaned against the railing on the side of the walkway and tried just to breathe. It wasn't really working. He was crowded and panicked, and his heart ached with longing.

  He heard the most familiar laugh.

  He looked around frantically, sure he just imagined it, but surprisingly close to him were big cat eyes and a perfectly sloped nose. Jisung felt the strong urge to hide.

  Minho looked different than he remembered. There was a darkness under his eyes that was more than a trick of the light, and a kind of emptiness in the way he moved. His hair and eyes were strange for Jisung to see, but he looked good. More than good. Beautiful, flawless. He could see he was happy, and there was someone at his side whispering something to him, and Jisung knew it was a mistake to come. He shouldn't have come. Minho didn't want him, and he never would again. He wanted so badly to run back to Chan, to get back and Woojin's car and drive back to the dorms. He could cuddle up to Jeongin and tell him he hadn't been able to find Minho. It would be safe, and it would be okay, but Jisung's feet were anchored into place.

  “Minho!”

  His tongue betrayed him. He just stared at Minho, waiting for a reaction, praying there wouldn't be one. He felt tears in his eyes that wouldn't fall, and his legs screamed at him to  _ run away _ . Minho looked up at him.

  His fast breathing hitched in his throat, and Minho's eyes went wide, shining in the neon lights. Jisung had forgotten how lovely he was. Minho glanced around quickly, and Jisung's heart went into overdrive as Minho began to run.

  Jisung felt the tears fall. He  _ knew  _ he should've stayed home, should've accepted his rejection and lived with the ongoing pain of being without his soulmate. Minho didn't want him. He watched him as he pushed through people, sprinting to escape him, and his steps slowly,

  Slowly,

  Stopped.

  He rode out the rest of the momentum he had gained before stopping completely to the side of the walkway, fists at his sides. Jisung hiccuped and did the only thing he could think to do. He approached him.

  “Minho,” he said, softly, just loud enough he could hear him. He was standing at least five feet away behind him, but Minho still looked up and slowly turned around.

  He had tears on his face that he wiped quickly with the back of his hand.

  “Please,” Jisung said, small and broken.

  Minho looked up at him, eyes shining, face stuck in an expression of anguish.

  “You weren't supposed to come back to find me!”

  Jisung let out a hard sob, his whole body shaking from the force of it. He knew it. Hearing Minho say it, though, it hurt him so bad.

  Minho took in a shaky breath. “You were supposed to find your soulmate!”

  Jisung looked up, his eyebrows furrowed, and grabbed for the beanie on his head. He pulled it off, watching Minho's expression as it morphed.

  First, his face sank in confusion, and then rose in surprise. He let out a cracked noise as he cried harder. “Fuck, Jisung, I'm such an idiot. I'm such a-”

  “Hey,” Jisung said, offering the strongest smile he could. He took a few tentative steps towards Minho.

  Minho looked up at him, golden eyes raking Jisung's silver ones for answers Jisung didn't have.

  Minho leaned forward, collapsing into Jisung's arms with another sob. Even in the given circumstances, Jisung revelled in having Minho in his arms. He held him tight to his chest.

  “Jisung, I'm so sorry,” Minho said into his shoulder.

  Jisung nodded, helping Minho stand up securely. “I saw… you're here with someone. I just wanted to tell you.”

  “Are you going to leave?” Minho asked, his voice laced with pleading.

  Jisung wiped his eyes and looked at the ground. “I thought you didn't want me to stay.”

  “Sungie,” Minho said, taking hold of both of his hands. “Sungie. I fucked up. I made a mistake. I… we really need to talk.”

  “I love you,” Jisung blurted. He remembered what he had told Chan he wanted to say, and he said it. “I love you, and I miss you so much, and I didn't even know we were soulmates until yesterday but I still wanted so badly to have you back.”

  He searched Minho's face for answers.

  “I love you, too, Sungie. I missed you too. So much.”

  “Then why'd you leave?”

  Minho let out a choked noise. “Can… can we go to my apartment? I don't want to talk here.”

  Jisung nodded.

  Minho didn't hold his hand as they left the amusement park. Jisung wanted him to. Jisung just cried in Minho's car, and neither of them spoke. “We're here,” Minho said, voice scratchy.

  Jisung followed Minho up a flight of stairs and into a small apartment. It was nice, though. It smelled like coffee and Febreeze.

  Minho threw himself down on the gray couch and put his head in his hands. Jisung was still shaking, and had no clue what to do with himself. He closed the door to the apartment and stood at the entrance.

  “I’m so sorry,” Minho started.

  “Why did you go?” Jisung asked.

  Minho laughed nervously and ran a hand through his hair. “You always talked about soulmates, Sungie. I knew how important they are to you. And that's why I wanted to leave.”

  “Minho-”

  “No, I need to just say this.”

  Jisung paused before nodding.

  “I meant to tell you. When the semester was over, I graduated, but I was too in love with you to just leave.”

  Jisung's eyes swam with tears.

  “I was too selfish to let you be with your soulmate, and I knew you loved me, too, and you wouldn't like it. So I left. I thought it'd make you happy. And I didn't want any of your friends to chastise me, so I just cut off all contact.”

  “They're your friends, too,” Jisung said bitterly. “How on Earth could you think that was a good idea?”

  Minho turned to look at him, face pained.

  “If you could have just  _ talked  _ to me, you would have known that I love you more than I love whatever stupid soulmate thing the universe decided to pull,” Jisung said. He knew he sounded angry, but he figured he had the right to feel that way.

  “I'm so sorry,” Minho said. “I thought it'd make you happy. And I thought it'd make me happy that you were happy. But it didn't.”

  Jisung took a few steps towards the couch.

  “I was miserable,” Jisung said. “I didn't go to class the first few days. I sat in my room and cried. Jeongin cried with me, you know. They all did. They missed you.”

  “Really?”

  Jisung nodded.

  “I… I was a mess,” Minho admitted. “I wanted to go back to you, but I thought I was doing the right thing. If I had known,  _ God _ -”

  “It doesn't matter that we're soulmates,” Jisung said, finally sitting down next to Minho. “I would have chosen you.”

  Minho only cried harder, crashing into Jisung and wrapping his arms around him. “I'm so sorry.”

  “It's okay,” Jisung said. “It's okay.”

  “It's not okay,” Minho argued, shaking his head. “I hurt you, Sungie.”

  “Hey,” he said, making Minho look at him. “I'm here now, right? And I'm okay. If you'll promise to always stay with me.”

  His hands shook as he pushed the hair out of Minho's face, like he always did to Jisung when he was upset. It seemed to work, as he leaned into Jisung's touch.

  “I'll never leave you. Never again.”

  Jisung kissed Minho gently. He tasted like salt, and his lower lip still quivered from crying. Jisung's mind was floundering for understanding, but he shut it off for a second as he pressed Minho closer to him. “I love you so much,” Minho whispered.

  Jisung kissed the tip of his nose and grinned. “I love you too, Minho.”

  Minho backed up, smoothing his hands over his jeans. “I'm going to go take my makeup off,” he said, gesturing to his smeared eyeliner. Jisung nodded.

  Jisung pulled out his phone. It didn't even ring before he heard a voice on the other end.

  “Jisung? Oh my God, what happened? Are you okay?”

  “Chan-”

  “Did you find Minho? How did it go?”

  “Chan.”

  “I'm just worried,” Chan said finally.

  “I found him. And we cried a lot, but we talked things over. I'm in his apartment now. I… I think we're back together.” He couldn't stop the grin that stretched over his face.

  “Jisung! That's amazing. I'll everyone else.”

  “Okay,” Jisung said with a laugh. “Just ask them not to spam me or anything.”

  “Alright. Stay safe!”

  Chan hung up and Jisung was left with the dumb smile on his face.

  Minho returned from the bathroom, face red from both washing and crying, but he was smiling. “Who… who were you talking to?”

  He was standing much too far away for Jisung's liking. “Chan,” he answered.

  “Are you okay?” Minho asked. “I mean, I know, a lot of stuff happened tonight, but-”

  “You're really far away.”

  Minho paused before he laughed. “It just feels so unreal to be with you again,” he explained, approaching Jisung and placing a hand on his cheek.

  “I'm tired,” Jisung said, sighing into the touch.

  “I can drive you back to the dorms, if you want,” Minho said, backing up slightly. “Or you can stay here, if you want to, but I'd understand if you didn't want to.”

  “Can I stay?”

  Minho smiled softly and nodded.

 

~~~

 

  Jisung missed cuddling with Minho.

  It was better than sleep, but it always lulled him to the sweetest slumbers he could fathom, and he always woke up feeling better than he had the night before. They probably weren't going to sleep much, though.

  Minho and Jisung were facing each other, legs intertwined, pressed as close together as they could be. Minho kissed away Jisung's tears and told him he was beautiful. Jisung talked, Minho listened, and they switched. He loved hearing Minho's voice. He had missed it so much.

  “How did you find me?” Minho asked after a while.

  “Instagram stalking,” Jisung admitted, burying his face in Minho's shirt. 

  “Really?”

  “I really wanted answers after you left,” Jisung said. “And I was always planning to go find you.”

  Minho sighed through his nose. “I’ll never leave again,” he promised, wrapping his pinky around Jisung's. “Never again.”

  Jisung smiled. “Me, neither.”

  “Like you'd ever leave me,” Minho teased.

  Jisung kicked him. “Shut up,” he said with a laugh. “Go to sleep.”

  Jisung heard Minho's whispers of “I love you”s until he fell asleep, and probably past that point, just curling himself farther into Minho's warmth. He was safe at last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think? Things have happened. I don't really know how I feel about the writing here, but tell me what you think!


	5. Goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leaving Jisung was the hardest thing Minho ever had to do.

  Minho knew he had to leave, or else he never would.

  He looked down at Jisung's small sleeping form that he had just unraveled himself from. It would be so easy for Minho to climb back into bed with him, and he wanted it so badly. He wanted to wrap Jisung back in his arms, knowing that was where he belonged. But he couldn't. Because Jisung didn't belong with him, and what he had said made it abundantly clear.

  “ _ Growing up, I always wanted to know who my soulmate was. I wanted so badly to find them.” _

__ Minho promised himself he wouldn't cry. He kept his promise to make Jisung happy, and he was going to keep this one, too. He needed to. Minho couldn't get emotional, or he'd be too weak to leave, just like he had been for the past four months. Jisung's bright dark eyes and heart-shaped smile kept him from doing the only thing Minho needed to do.

  Minho had no doubts that his time with Jisung was the best time in his life. He had hit on him as a joke, knowing he probably had a soulmate, and got his hopes up due to his uncertainty. He considered himself lucky he got to be around him for as long as he did. Jisung was beautiful and bright. Where Minho's life had been dark and dull for reasons he couldn't understand, Jisung had filled. Minho had been happy with Jisung.

  He knew that Jisung couldn't be happy with him.

_ “Do you want to be with your soulmate someday?” _

_   “Of course.” _

  He forced himself to turn away from Jisung. Watching the rhythmic rising and falling of his chest calmed him down too much, lulled him back into that sense of security that Jisung always gave him, convinced him that he should just go back to sleep. It was just shy of three in the morning, so what was he doing?

  He was doing what he had to. He pulled a pink sticky note out of his pocket and carefully stuck it to the surface of Jisung's wardrobe. He had written dozens of notes, trying to come up with one that he was brave enough to leave. All he'd come up with was  _ goodbye.  _ After months with Jisung and even months of planning on leaving, that was all he could think of, and he thought it was stupid. He'd write Jisung note after note if he was his soulmate, if Jisung is was his to love. He'd write ballads and sonnets and novels. He'd wax lyrical about Jisung's eyes, his smile, the small curve of his shoulders. It was all wishful thinking, he knew, and he did wish for it. He prayed to a God who had done nothing for him and asked for just one thing.

  Minho turned to look back at Jisung. He was still sleeping soundly, dark hair thrown haphazardly around the pillow, and Minho couldn't look at him any longer.

  He tugged on his shoes and stood up, carefully opening the door to the dorm, making sure to be as quiet as humanly possible. He resisted the urge to look back at him, but he did stand in the doorway look into the hallway of the dorm building, and take in a shaky breath. This was it. He was finally going to make Jisung happy.

  He stepped forwards, out of the room, and closed the door delicately behind him.

  The walk down the stairs was absent of second thoughts. It was already too late to change his mind, even if he wanted to. It was selfish for him to want to go back, and he wasn't allowed to anymore. He walked slowly. He dragged his feet when he reached the sidewalk. With every step closer to the main road, Minho felt Jisung's light dissipating, drowned out by the harsh streetlights that Minho knew he loved do much, but they made him feel so cold and alone. Minho had left himself alone in this world. He stood on the sidewalk as he clicked through all of his friends’ contacts, blocking every single one.

_ Woojin. _ He'd been neat and considerate, basically the best roommate anyone could ever ask for, but he also did Minho favors like picking up takeout, or proofreading his essays, or just giving him a hug when he felt like his coursework had punched him in the stomach and left him for dead. He was a great friend.

_ Chan.  _ Ever since Minho met Chan, he had been amazing. He laughed at Minho's sometimes ridiculous actions and assured him he wasn't stupid or a disappointment. It was so important to Minho then.

_ Changbin. _ Changbin hadn't been the absolute best to Minho at first, but they learned to get along, often joking with each other and talking about music. Changbin found Minho's softer side first, and never stopped teasing him, but Minho had found his, as well.

_ Hyunjin.  _ An absolute dork, but Minho got along with him well. They danced together, and Hyunjin's constant desire to improve was infectious. Minho had become better because of teaching Hyunjin. He had a lot to thank him for.

_ Felix. _ He had made dancing this year bright. Even the darkest moments of struggle in the studio were alleviated by Felix's attitude. He wasn't afraid to critique Minho, and it was refreshing.

_ Seungmin.  _ Frankly, Minho and Seungmin had a love-hate relationship. Minho came into contact with Seungmin a lot after their first meeting on Christmas Eve, him suddenly being almost everywhere Minho was. Seungmin acted like he didn't like anyone, and Minho could relate to having that front. Seungmin was nice.

_ Jeongin. _ God, he was adorable, and full of strange insecurities Minho wanted to help resolve. One smile from him could make anyone's heart do leaps in their chest. Minho hoped someone would protect him.

_ Jisung. _

_   Jisung. _

_   Jisung. _

__ He couldn't let himself think about Jisung. He just blocked him, not even thinking about his final goodbyes, and hailed a taxi.

  He mumbled the directions to his apartment to the driver and leaned his head back against the headrest. Some slow, bittersweet sounding English song was playing on the radio, and it only coaxed out more of his tears as he watched the early morning city from the windows. Jisung really did love the city. All of Seoul reminded him of Jisung. Every corner of the Earth brought Jisung to the front of his mind, the very action of the sun shining making Minho remember the texture of his glowing skin. The solar system would never allow Minho to forget him.

  Jisung's sunshine was never supposed to fall on Minho.

  A soulmate is the person you're meant to be with. Minho had been bitter his whole life over the fact that he had no one. Out of all seven billion people on the planet, the universe couldn't find a single one who could put up with him. Jisung put up with him. Minho knew he wasn't supposed to.

  A soulmate is the most important person in your life. Jisung had a person out there somewhere, and he wanted to find them. He had to find them. There was someone out there who was supposed to run their fingers through Jisung's hair and call him Sungie and cuddle him to sleep. Back in September, Minho had the audacity to believe that he deserved to do those things for the time being. Taking up Jisung's time while he waited for the one for him seemed harmless. It seemed okay.

  Minho could see now that he had been selfish. His thoughts always circled back. Minho loved Jisung. Jisung loved his soulmate. Minho had to leave for Jisung to be happy, but was much too weak to do it when he should have. He appealed to the universe.  _ I'm doing it now, I'm going. I'm going. Are you happy? _

__ It didn't answer him and he let out a sob. He paid the taxi driver and stumbled out of the car. The trek up the stairs to his apartment was laborious, his legs constantly threatening to give out underneath him, but he managed his way up and unlocked the door to his cold apartment. It was a void, absent of even the light from the city, and cold from the unseasonably frigid temperatures outside. He pulled his shoes off and walked past the empty kitchen, the barren living room, and into his bedroom.

  It was the coldest of all in the bedroom. There was nothing on the walls or the floor, just an old bed frame with a mattress that would probably hurt him and a comforter with a bright blue color that was offensively out of place in the room. Minho threw himself onto the mattress as he let out another sob.

  He hardly slept that night. He hardly slept that month at all, constantly tossing and turning in worry. He filled his life with things. His apartment looked less bare, and he was dancing at a studio he taught at, but he always came home to his squeaky bed frame and his life that didn't have Jisung in it. And it hurt, so bad.

_ I left him. _

_   Is this what you wanted? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you're confused, this isn't happening where the story presently is. It's a flashback. I thought it'd be useful for you all to see this, and it's a much shorter chapter so I was able to get it out quickly. I hope you enjoyed!


	6. Choose You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jisung wakes up day after day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it! I really hope you've enjoyed this fic. I had a blast writing it. I may do more, longer fics in the future, if you all would like to see that. Anyway, onto the chapter!
> 
> Warning!  
> Things I didn't do:  
> \- proofread this

  Jisung blinked his eyes open, balking at the light in the room. He rolled over, both marvelling at the size of the bed he was in - his dorm room bed hardly allowed for breathing room - and the strange emptiness of it. He sat up quickly, floundering as he looked around Minho's bedroom. _Did he leave again?_

  The thought was only fleeting, as Jisung quickly heard noise from the kitchen. He flopped back down on the mattress. _Where did I think he went?_ he cursed himself. _He fucking lives here._

He rubbed his eyes before sitting back up. Jisung didn't remember changing into Minho's sweatpants, but he was wearing a magenta sweatshirt that he distinctly remembered as his own. He hadn't seen it since Minho left. He smiled a little, thinking that Minho probably took it, even though it didn't fit him well. He carefully stepped out of bed and wandered out of the room.

  He saw Minho in the kitchen, adorable pastel pink apron tied around his waist. He was dusted with flour and standing over the stove, facing mostly away from Jisung, and he was… talking?

  "Hi, kitty kitty! How are you? Aww, you're so cute, aren't you? Yes, you are!"

  Jisung couldn't stop the laugh that escaped his throat. Minho whipped around to look at him. "Sungie! I'm making breakfast," he said, smiling widely. It took all of Jisung's willpower not to cry of domestic joy.

  "What are you making?" Jisung asked, padding his way into the kitchen and wrapping his arms around Minho's torso. His face was hidden in Minho's back, and it was almost warm enough to replace the bed he just left.

  "Pancakes," Minho chimed.

  Jisung hummed happily. He felt a soft presence at his calves, which he presumed was whatever cat Minho had been talking to.

  Jisung squatted down to pet its orange fur. "You got a cat?"

  Minho laughed. "Yeah. I always wanted one. It was my main motivation for living here."

  Jisung scratched the cat behind the ears before poking its nose. He giggled as it recoiled in surprise.

  "Do you want me to put chocolate chips in yours?" Minho asked.

  "Is that even a question?" Jisung joked, standing up.

  Minho rolled his eyes. Jisung pressed a kiss to the back of his neck and marvelled at his laughter. Minho's laugh was probably the thing he missed the most.

  Minho flipped the pancake onto a plate and handed it to Jisung. He smiled widely in appreciation as he grabbed the syrup - the corn syrup kind, not the kind from the tree - off the counter and sat down at the counter. He doused his pancakes in syrup and shoved a forkful into his cheek. "God, I love you," he said.

  Minho beamed as he poured more batter onto the pan. "Only when I make you food?" he teased.

  "No, all the time," Jisung said. "But it helps."

  "Do you want coffee?" Minho asked, pouring himself a cup and adding a splash of creamer. Jisung nodded enthusiastically.

  Minho poured a mugful of milk, added a few spoonfuls of sugar, and splashed in enough coffee to turn it a milky brown color. Jisung took it gratefully.

  Soon, Minho was sat beside him with his bitter coffee and much less syrup-laden pancakes. He poked Jisung's cheek as he ate.

  "Why?" Jisung complained, covering his face.

  "You're really cute," Minho said with a giggle.

  Jisung wanted to be angry at the endearment, but he couldn't be, with the glint in Minho's golden eyes and the smile on his face.

  "Your eyes kind of creep me out," Jisung said.

  "You did this to me," Minho said with a shrug. "I kind of like them."

  "Really?"

  "Really. And I _really_ like the blond. So I'll deal with it," he said, ruffling Jisung's already disastrous hair. Jisung leaned forward to kiss Minho's cheek. He grimaced as he wiped the syrup off his face with the back of his hand. Jisung rolled his eyes.

  "Do you have class today?"

  "No."

  "...yes, you do," Minho said, looking at his blank expression.

  "Fine," Jisung conceded. "But I'm not going. Because you're here."

  Minho sighed and thought for a moment. "Okay," he said. "But you have to go tomorrow."

  Jisung cheered and shovelled another forkful of pancake into his mouth.

 

~~~

 

  "I'm nervous."

  "I know."

  Jisung squeezed Minho's hand, staring up at the staircase in front of them. Just up those stairs a few flights were all of their friends, bound to react to Minho's return in a variety of ways. Jisung just hoped they were mostly positive. "Did you tell them we were coming?" Minho asked.

  "No," Jisung admitted. "I can call them now, if you want."

  "No, it's fine," Minho said. "It's gonna be okay, right?"

  "Of course."

  Minho nodded and took in a deep breath. "Okay."

  They walked up the stairs together, Jisung glancing around in a way that could only be described as paranoid. The first stop was Jisung's dorm room. Jisung had hoped it would be empty.

  He was wrong.

  "Oh, for Jeongin's sake," Jisung cursed, covering his own eyes with his hand.

  "We're literally wearing all of our clothes," Seungmin said, moving from where he had Hyunjin pinned against the wall. "And did you just say Jeongin-"

  "That doesn't matter."

  Hyunjin had sunk to the floor in apparent shame, face hidden in his hands. Seungmin chuckled, petting his head, and turned to Jisung again. "How did that thing go? Chan said that… Hi, Minho."

  Jisung finished tugging him into the room and closed the door to the room. "Uh, hi-"

  "I fucking missed you!" Hyunjin squealed, standing up quickly to tackle Minho in a hug. Minho chuckled, relieved no one threatened him or anything.

  "Hi, Jinnie."

  "Welcome back," Seungmin said, bowing slightly, "you top notch idiot."

  "That's no way to treat your elders," Minho scolded.

  "That was no way to treat your boyfriend."

  The air was silent and sharp for a few seconds, Seungmin's words clearly shocking Minho. Seungmin cleared his throat in recognition. "It's good to have you back."

  Minho laughed it off and grabbed Jisung's hand again. "We should probably go see the others."

  "I may have already texted Innie," Hyunjin said, tucking his phone back into his pocket.

  The door flew open, sending the four of them tumbling farther into the dorm room. "Jinnie said Minho's back!" Jeongin enthused, his eyes soon locking on Minho. He hugged him tightly, and Jisung _melted_ at the sweet smiles on both of their faces.

  "Changbin and Felix are out right now," Jeongin said, separating from him. "And I think Chan is taking a stress nap."

  "Then I guess we can chill?" Jisung said.

  They all nodded.

  The trio had a plethora of questions for the couple, most of which they were happy to answer, and a few of which they ignored (such as Jeongin's "why do you have a habit of yeeting away from your problems?"). The atmosphere was warm and pleasant, and Jisung was just beyond happy it was back to normal.

  Soon, Jisung's phone was buzzing incessantly from his pocket.

 

[Lixie:

  i'm in the hallway. talk. now.]

 

  Jisung rolled his eyes before excusing himself. He closed the door behind him just to be met with a very concerned looking Felix, a much angrier looking Changbin at his side. Jisung blamed it on his resting face.

  "You and Minho are back together?" Felix whispered harshly.

  Jisung recoiled from the tone. "Yeah?"

  "Is that it?" Felix asked. "You forgave him?"

  Jisung crossed his arms. "Why the hell are you acting like this?"

  "I think," Changbin started, "Felix is just trying to say that you suffered for _weeks_ because of Minho-"

  "Because I love him, and it hurts to be away from him," Jisung bit back.

  "He _hurt_ you," Felix argued. "He left you without a thought for how you felt-"

  "You haven't even let him explain himself," Jisung said. He felt tears welling up in his throat for the thousandth time in recent memory.

  Felix's face fell. "I… why did he do it?"

  "It's my fault for making him think I didn't want him," Jisung said. "He didn't mean to hurt me."

  Felix took in a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Ji."

  "Are you sure he isn't going to hurt you again?" Changbin asked tenatively.

  "Is Binnie being _protective?"_ Jisung teased, raising his eyebrows.

  "Nevermind," Changbin deadpanned. "You're the worst."

  Jisung laughed before sighed again. "Really. Just be nice to him. Please."

  "I'll forgive him if you have," Felix said with a shrug.

  Jisung nodded gratefully and opened the door again, making his way into the dorm. The room inside was extremely quiet.

  "...what's up, guys?" Changbin said, waving awkwardly. Minho gave a small wave back.

  "No hard feelings!" Felix cheered, rushing up to give Minho a hug. His frown immediately dissolved.

  "I hate you," Changbin said to Minho, "but that's nothing new."

  "Nice to see you too, Binnie."

  The atmosphere soon re-lightened, and Chan and Woojin joined them before long. For the most part, everything was the way it used to be, with all nine of them crammed in Jisung and Hyunjin's small dorm room with ventilation so terrible that their body heat was quickly accumulating. Their laughter could result in a noise complaint. It was exactly the way Jisung wanted his friendships to be forever.

 

~~~

 

  "I'm nervous."

  "Don't be," Felix said, fixing his hair in the massive mirror on the wall. "You look great!"

  Jisung huffed. He supposed he did. He wanted orange or pink hair, but Minho said it'd make his eyes look too creepy, and he didn't want to wear contacts. Jisung had settled for a pretty medium lilac color, standing out against his white and black suit. Minho had said his hair color was "a surprise", as they hadn't seen each other since that morning, but Jisung could see in his own eyes that his hair was a deep black. It made his heart beat erratically in his chest, if it wasn't already. He was wearing a lot of blush rosy and highlighter, hopefully hiding the inevitable flush on his face.

  The door creaked open and Jeongin immediately stood to look at who it was. "Yah!" he yelled. "No seeing the bride before the wedding. It's bad luck."

  Minho's voice came from behind the door. "But I love him! Sungie, I love you!"

  Jisung giggled. "I love you too!"

  Jeongin hastily closed the door on him. "Absolutely ridiculous."

  Jisung laughed and ran a hand through his hair. Chan immediately made a noise of distaste and rushed over to fix it. "Hey, hey. Seungmin will definitely yell at you for ruining his pictures if you do that."

  "It's _my_ wedding," Jisung joked.

  "Seungmin owns this joint."

  Felix choked on a laugh. "We have five minutes. Are you sure you don't want to bring your note cards up with you?"

  Jisung shook his head. "No, I think I have everything memorized. But _you_ have to give a best man's speech."

  "I think you'd be surprised."

  Chan raised an eyebrow. "Felix, if you mess this up-"

  "Relax," Felix said. "I got this."

  Jisung chose just to trust him and stood up, pacing the room nervously. He was terrified. This was the best day of his life, obviously, and no matter what, it would be perfect. He was just full of happy anxiety, and he felt like he was about to cry. Felix rubbed his shoulder comfortingly. "You good?"

  "I'm too good," Jisung babbled. "This is the best thing that's ever happened to me. I love him so much-"

  "Save it for the vows," Felix interrupted with a laugh. "We're almost on."

  Jisung nodded, his hands shaking so much he felt like he was vibrating.

  The door opened, and Seungmin stuck his head out. "You're on in thirty seconds, Felix," he announced, sparing a glance to each of them in the room. Felix nodded and they all filed out of the room.

  The venue was beautiful. It was completely dark outside, the lights of the city visible behind the altar, glowing fairy lights around the chairs, aisle, and wedding arch, lighting up the plumes of white roses decorating the atmosphere. It was all Jisung could have wanted, and that wasn't even taking into account the one thing that mattered - Minho's gorgeous form underneath the wedding arch, beaming as the music played from the piano in the corner. Seungmin bolted to the end of the aisle, hardly visible in his black suit, to take pictures of Felix and Changbin as they walked down the aisle together.

  After Felix and Changbin came Woojin and Chan, and then Hyunjin and Jeongin. Jisung tried to calm down as his father walked him down the aisle.

  It was like a dream. His feet weren't making contact with the ground as he walked, and all he could see was _Minho, Minho, Minho._ It was all her ever wanted to see. All of this hit him at once, and he wanted to break down in tears right there. Still, though, he stepped up to the altar and nearly melted at Minho's joyful smile. He grinned back and took Minho's soft hands in his own.

  Whatever the person marrying them - _marrying Jisung to Minho_ \- was saying went right over Jisung's head. He just stared into Minho's newly violet eyes as they crinkled in joy. He really did look amazing with the black hair.

  Before long, it was Jisung's turn to say his vows, and his whole heart was threatening to fall out of his chest. "Minho."

  "Hi," Minho breathed out with a laugh.

  Jisung tried to stifle the giggle that inevitably escaped his mouth. "At the beginning of my sophomore year, you were the gorgeous barista in the campus coffee shop. Needless to say, when you left me notes with those _ridiculous_ pick-up lines, I fell hard."

  Minho's smile widened, if that was even possible, and Jisung squeezed his hands.

  "Needless to say, I was conflicted. Soulmates were the only thing that mattered, as far as I was concerned, but I loved you without knowing about our bond. I loved you with full confidence that I wasn't supposed to. And, even now, I know that I'd want to be up here, marrying you, even if my eyes hadn't changed colors that day."

  Minho ran his thumbs over Jisung's hands.

  "The universe said you were the one for me, Lee Minho, but, if it didn't, I still would have chosen you. In my next lives, I will choose you again and again. I can only hope that you'll choose me over and over, too, and that today you'll choose me just once."

  Jisung grinned. "I love you so much," he said, finishing his speech.

  Minho blinked at him quickly, trying to prevent his tears from falling. "Han Jisung."

  Jisung took in a deep breath through his nose.

  "I'm an idiot."

  The crowd broke out in giggles, especially the seven of their closest friends standing with them.

  "I'm an absolute idiot, Jisung, and I almost let you go soon after we first met because I trusted the universe more than I trusted us. I never stopped loving you. I was born to love you, and I've spent my whole life hoping I'd be able to. I wanted you to be my last, Jisung, before I even thought you were my anything. You're my everything, universe be damned. We make our own choices in this world. Every corner of the universe reminds me of you because you are the only thing that matters. The idea of soulmates is irrelevant if it doesn't lead me to you, because you are the only one. I love you, Sungie, and I hope you'll let me do so forever."

  "Do you, Lee Minho, take Han Jisung to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

  "I do," he said, smiling softly.

  "Do you, Han Jisung, take Lee Minho to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

  "I do," he proclaimed, much louder and more confidently than intended, earning a sudden laugh from Jeongin.

  "Then you may now kiss… each other."

  Minho pulled him in by his hands and kissed him gently. The crowd roared. Jisung let the noise fade into obscurity as he just felt Minho and the non-existent space between them. They were one, dictated by the universe that they had built. They separated and Jisung laughed.

  At the reception, Changbin shoved a handful of wedding cake into Minho's face, earning only laughter, even from Minho. Felix and Woojin, the best men, performed a song Jisung had produced recently with Changbin and Chan instead of giving a speech. However, the song they chose was one called Matryoshka, quite contrary to any one of the softer selections they could have picked (including ones about Minho). Changbin rapped his lines extremely loudly. Jisung figured he drank too much.

  It was the best day he could have asked for, and he went home to Minho every day afterwards, so he couldn't have asked for a better life, either.

 

~~~

 

  "Dadda?"

  "Yes, Chenle?" Jisung asked drowsily, rolling over in bed. It was way too early for this, but he didn't want to complain about it.

  The small child pouted slightly, puffing his chubby cheeks out. He held up his pinky finger on his right hand and frowned at it. "There's a string on my pinky."

  Jisung sat up, half-heartedly slapping Minho's back in order to wake him as well. "Hngh."

  "Minho, get up."

  "It's six in the morning," Minho complained, looking at his phone.

  Jisung swooped down to press a kiss to the back of Minho's neck, thus giving him the energy to finally sit up. "Dad!" Chenle cheered, hoisting himself up onto the bed to wrap his arms around Minho's neck.

  Minho laughed, his voice hoarse from sleep, and patted the top of Chenle's head. The child separated and flopped down to sit on the mattress. He held up his finger again, poking it with his index finger of his other hand. "What _is_ it?"

  Clearly, Jisung saw absolutely nothing, and, judging by the look on his face, Minho couldn't, either. "What color is the string?"

  "Ed."

  "Red," Minho corrected.

  "Red," Chenle repeated. Minho smiled approvingly.

  "You know about soulmates, right, Lele?" Jisung asked.

  Chenle nodded enthusiastically. "Dad and Dadda are soulmates, and, and, and… and Woojin and Chan, and, and…"

  Chenle seemed to forget what he was going to say. Jisung giggled. "Yes, that's right. At the other end of that string," he pointed, "is your soulmate."

  Chenle noticeably perked up, looking off to where the string lead. "Let's go right now!" he exclaimed, clamoring off the bed and following the string into the wall.

  "No, no," Minho said, standing up to scoop Chenle up in his arms. The child giggled at that, hugging him tightly. "You have all the time in the world to go find them."

  Chenle huffed. "But I want to find them _now_."

  "And they probably want to find you," Jisung explained, "but the time isn't right yet. You're only five, Lele."

  "Yeah, this many!" he yelled, holding out his open hand. He proceeded to count all of his fingers, making Minho roll his eyes.

  "I know, buddy," Jisung said. "Someday you'll meet them, and maybe you'll really like them, but if you don't, that's okay, too."

  Chenle's eyebrows furrowed. "How could I not like them?"

  "You'll understand when you're older," Minho said, standing up.

  "Are you saying you don't like me?" Jisung asked with a laugh.

  "Absolutely can't stand you," he replied as he walked out of the room, turning back to wink at Jisung before he left.

  "Let's go make breakfast," Jisung said, lifting up Chenle to set him down on the ground. Chenle immediately ran as fast as his (very tiny) legs could carry him into the kitchen.

  Minho was already behind the counter, cracking eggs into a bowl. Jisung hugged him from behind and Chenle, hilariously, did the same to Jisung. Jisung separated to make toast.

  "I wanna…"

  "What is it, Lele?" Minho asked.

  Chenle pointed to the fork Minho had in his hand.

  "You wanna beat the eggs?"

  He nodded.

  Minho laughed breathily before lifting Chenle up towards the counter and handing him the fork. He expected his motor skills to fail him, but, surprisingly, he beat the eggs to a totally consistent liquid form. Minho kissed his head as he pried the fork from his grasp. "Good work."

  Chenle proceeded to bounce around the kitchen the entire time Minho was cooking. "Chenle, go get dressed for school while you wait," Jisung said, growing a little paranoid about his actions.

  Chenle bounced off to his room.

  "Do you ever regret having a kid?" Minho asked jokingly.

  "Sometimes," Jisung answered with a chuckle.

  Minho took the opportunity to kiss him desperately before Chenle bounded back into the room, earning a feeble slap in the chest from a now red-faced Jisung. Minho laughed as he carried the two plates to the table, letting Chenle carry his own since he insisted.

  Minho laughed as soon as Jisung and Chenle started eating.

  "...what?" Jisung asked, looking up at him.

  "You two both eat the same way."

  Jisung turned to look at Chenle, who was shoving egg into his cheeks before chewing. He ran a hand over his face. "I've tarnished our son with the legacy of the squirrel."

  "He's just extra cute now," Minho said, leaning over to pinch Chenle's cheek. He whined and pulled away.

  Jisung checked his phone. "It's time to go to the bus, Chenle."

  Chenle shoved a last bit of egg in his mouth and bolted to the living room to put on his backpack. Minho grabbed Jisung's hand as they started to walk him out of the apartment building and to the bus stop, Chenle skipping the whole way.

  "Ji!"

  As soon as they exited the building, Jisung turned to see Felix waving, Changbin's arm around his waist and a golden-skinned child walking leisurely in front of them.

  "Hyuck!" Chenle squealed, rushing up to greet the other boy. Donghyuck, the boy in question, rolled his eyes but smiled softly.

  "How are things?" Felix asked, fistbumping Jisung.

  "Chenle woke up this morning with a red string on his finger," Jisung said with a sigh.

  "Did he want to go look for his soulmate?"

  "He sure did."

  "Hyuck acts like he couldn't care less about his soulmate," Changbin said with a laugh. "Whenever we mention soulmates, he says he hates them."

  "Cold," Minho responded.

  Felix nodded knowingly.

  "Hi, Hyuck."

  Jisung looked down to see the familiar face of Mark, Chan and Woojin's son, who was two years older than Chenle and one older than Donghyuck. He turned to look for the two parents in question.

  "They let me walk by myself today," he said, seeing Jisung's confusion.

  "I want to do that," Donghyuck complained, looking up towards Felix.

  Felix just shook his head.

  The bus arrived and the three kids got together. Jisung and Minho waited until they couldn't see Chenle waving from the window before heading back inside. "You coming to the studio today?" Changbin asked Jisung.

  "Sure am. Minho and I were going to go get coffee with Hyunjin, Seungmin, and their new baby. Do you want to come?"

  "Is the baby going to drink coffee?" Minho asked.

  Jisung rolled his eyes.

  "I can't," Changbin responded. "Felix is making me clean the house."

  "I'm making you clean _your_ house," Felix responded.

  Changbin sighed. "I love you?"

  "I love you, too."

  Changbin grinned victoriously. "See you later, then!" he said, waving as he made his way back into his apartment building with Felix.

  "Hey, Sungie?"

  "Hmm?" he said, turning towards Minho.

  "I love you. A lot."

  "I love you, too," Jisung responded, leaning against his shoulder.

  And he really, really did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's over!
> 
> I really hope you all like NCT. Because I shoehorned a lot of members in here. 
> 
> By the way, this fix was inspired by Bastille's Happier, which is a song that was stuck in my head for days before writing this, if that provides an additional insight.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. Tell me what you think and have a wonderful day/night!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed. Anything you guys have to say would be greatly appreciated!
> 
> If any of you want to talk to me, find me on twitter @ByeOrWassupMan


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